More of a quickie tour than genuine travels among the world's most distinctiveand most religiously extremeJews. Eisenberg is a nonreligious, long-haired midwestern Jew. But the fluent Yiddish he learned from his grandmother gives him entrÇe among the bearded, black-coated ultra-Orthodox men and bewigged women whom he visits. But he squanders his opportunity to provide real insight into the various Hasidic sects portrayed here (each defined by its veneration for a particular rebbe, or spiritual leader): wealthy Vishnitzer diamond merchants in Antwerp; Bratslavers praying at the grave of their rebbe in the Ukraine; Lubavitchers running a glatt kosher meat business in Postville, Iowa. Eisenberg settles instead for brief encounters, amusing images (a young Hasid roller-blading around the slaughterhouse where he works), and cute writing (`` `How's that,' I ask tersely, like Sergeant Friday on Dragnet''). Not only is a Saturday afternoon in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, not enough time to learn why the Satmars are the most notorious Hasidic sect; our guide also repeats without substantiation charges against the Satmars that have contributed to tensions with their Latino neighbors. His naãvetÇ is equally visible in a discussion about Yeshiva University, in which he seems unaware of power struggles there between centrist and right-wing Orthodox. When he joins the Bratslavers on their annual pilgrimage to their rebbe's grave, we learn about how Hasidim are reviving Judaism in Eastern Europe, but not about the nature of the mystical bond that ties the Bratslavers to a man who died nearly two centuries ago. And the book's most poignant piece, a visit to the last two religious Jews in Dombrova, Poland, has nothing to do with Hasidim. ``Man, you've got to live here for three months, not as an observer but as a participant,'' says one hippie turned Hasid. If only Eisenberg had followed his advice.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-06-251222-6
Page Count: 224
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1995
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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