Well-written, valuable history of a unique synagogue at the crux of social change.
This wonderfully illustrated volume looks back on four decades at a groundbreaking New York City synagogue and its LGBTQS—lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, straight—community.
Rabbi Cohen served the Congregation Beit Simchat Torah for 10 years, first as a rabbinical intern, then as rabbinic partner with Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum. In this fascinating, well-documented history, Cohen traces the development of CBST from its earliest beginnings in a 1973 Village Voice ad: “Gay Synagogue, Friday Night Service and Oneg Shabbat, Feb. 9, 8:00 pm.” A dozen men showed up. Today, Yom Kippur services draw over 4,000 people. Cohen divides her book into three main sections: “The Early Years,” covering CBST’s efforts to find a home, deal with the AIDS crisis and find a rabbi; “Building the Sanctuary,” addressing how CBST came to develop liturgy, songs and traditions, including its own Torahs; and “Enlarging the Tent,” describing CBST’s continuing embrace of diversity among its members and its plans for the future. The many personal glimpses of CBST members scattered throughout this account add much interest, poignancy and humor. Several early members mention how freeing it was to avoid the prying questions during oneg (a useful glossary is appended for gentiles), the social/cultural hour after services in which members might be asked, for instance, if they were getting married. A heartbreaking number—nearly half the original male members—of in memoriam notices are reproduced for AIDS-related deaths, but, in a heartening statistic, baby-naming ceremonies “far outpaced AIDS funerals” by the early 2000s. Cohen is honest about the disagreements that were part of CBST’s growth, such as inclusion of women, and how the organization is still changing—for example, the basic issue of confidentiality, so important to early members, has altered with time: “It wasn’t until the 2000s that mail from CBST began to bear the synagogue’s name on the envelope, a change that some members found startling even then.” But what comes through most strongly is the congregation’s feeling that at CBST they’ve found a home—an inclusive, welcoming home that takes its spiritual and social responsibilities seriously, with a side of joy and song.
Well-written, valuable history of a unique synagogue at the crux of social change.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0979400919
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Congregation Beit Simchat Torah
Review Posted Online: Oct. 9, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PERSPECTIVES
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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