5 comments about In Our Hearts We Were Giants: The Remarkable Story of the Lilliput Troupe¿A Dwarf Family¿s Survival of the Holocaust.

1. Just when I thought I knew all the big stories from the Holocaust, I come upon this... and I had never heard of this family.
   
   My father's family was from this same region in Romania, and I wish my granpa and grandma were alive to ask them questions...who knows? They might have even seen this family perform! Ah, the things we never asked our parents and grandparents when they were alive cause we were so busy in our young lives!
   
   Wonderfully told story about family togetherness...Tender, raw, and real. One can even try to understand why there was a sort of "affection" between the family and their captors--as unbelievable as it seems.
   
   Read this one.



2. The family photo on the cover is a classic, and I first saw it as a child in a Time-Life series book. The condition has since been diagnosed as pseudoachondroplasia, a genetic disorder of the cartilage.
   
   Even if it weren't for the religious persecution and horrendous experiments performed on them by Dr. Mengele, this would have been a fascinating story about a challenged family who rose above their obstacles, without being exploited, to lead fulfilling lives. All appeared to be emotionally well-adjusted and totally lacking in self-pity.
   
   People who are interested in the Holocaust and/or dwarfism should read this book.



3. Penned by a pair of Israeli journalists, In Our Hearts We Were Giants is the never-before-told true story of the Ovitz family, seven of them dwarfs, who experienced the horrors of the Holocaust - yet in an odd twist of fate, their dwarfism actually helped them to survive. Serving as popular entertainers until the Nazis deported them to Auschwitz in May 1944, the Ovitz family - widely known as the Lilliput Troupe - were separated from other Jewish victims. The notorious Dr. Josef Mengele, his diabolic "research" on twins and other genetically unique individuals already underway, took a special interest in the Ovitzes. Even as he arranged for vile experiments to be performed upon the Ovitzes, he developed a bizarre fondness for them and their will to survive. Pieced together from interviews with the last surviving Ovitz sibling and her relatives, medical documentation, archival lists, and original Auschwitz records, In Our Hearts We Were Giants is an unforgettable perspective on the nightmare of the Holocaust.



4. The story of the Ovitz family's devotion to one other and to their religion is by turns heartwarming and heartbreaking. By now, many of us have read books, seen movies, and heard stories about extraordinary survival won through that extraordinary horror, the Holocaust. This book stands with the best of those stories because of its uniqueness -- seven of the 10 Ovitzes were dwarfs, and therefore the entire family became the special "pets" of the dreaded Dr. Mengele.
   
   The writing is hardly slick or seamless, but it gets the job done in a more than satisfactory manner. The text seems to speak English with an accent, and while that can be a tad distracting at times, it confers that much more veracity upon the story of the Ovitzes.
   
   The resourcefulness, dedication, and intelligence of the Ovitz dwarfs enables the reader to see them as much more than medical curiosities. Not only are they real people, they're very special people. Frankly, people of this caliber would be worth writing a book about even if they were of normal stature. Dwarfism aside, the story of the Ovitzes is that of a loving, close-knit, traditional family of a type that seems sadly alien to many of us today.
   
   The family's Jewish faith remains strong even in the face of growing persecution. When it is decreed that Jewish performers may perform only for Jewish audiences, the Ovitzes skillfully contrive to obtain identification papers that do not identify them as Jews, yet they remain observant by conveniently falling ill on every sabbath, so they do not have to perform. Later, when they are held in the concentration camp, they manage to say prayers and fashion makeshift candles in secret observance of holidays.
   
   The suffering the Ovitzes endured at the hands of Mengele is not related in excruciating detail, but what information we are given is excruciating enough. This book is generally more vague, more poetic about the concentration-camp atrocities than other books, but it is no less horrifying.
   
   Horrifying, too, are some of the details of the Ovitzes' lives after the war. They remain devoted to one another, and continue to stick together, but now they are also bonded by what haunts them. Their nephew -- who was only a baby in the camp and learned to call Mengele "Daddy" so that he might be spared from torture -- recalls being awakened frequently by his aunts and uncles screaming in their sleep.
   
   One of the most interesting aspects of this book are the conflicting accounts of the dwarfs' activities in the concentration camp. Several witnesses claim to have seen the Ovitzes performing in the camp, whereas the Ovitzes always firmly maintained that they did not perform -- and indeed, would not have done such a thing. Other witnesses claim to have seen several of the dwarves kowtowing to Mengele and to have heard them praising him to the other prisoners. The Ovitzes deny this as well.
   
   The authors of the book do not attempt to clear up these discrepancies; they simply present both sides, and acknowledge that perhaps certain people's memories are clouded or inaccurate. I admired this tactic.
   
   This remarkable family made their way in a world that gave them very little more than sharp minds, winning personalities, each other, and their strong faith. Though they did gain wealth and widespread renown before and after the war, during the very darkest years of their lives, the barest essentials -- wits and wit, family and faith -- turned out to be riches in themselves.



5. This is a most unusual book. Many books have been printed about the Holocaust, dissecting it from every conceivable aspect. Here we have a fascinating account of how a family of Jewish dwarfs from Marmorash (Transylvania) in Rumania survived the Holocaust. The infamous "doctor" Mengele was interested in studying genetics , more accurately he was interested in his own version of this science.The family of Jewish dwarfs and some extended family members offered him an unusual opportunity for this study and Mengele seized this and thus allowed the Jewish dwarfs to survive Auschwitz and remain alive while he and his staff preformed their so-called research on them.In fact many of these extended family members were not really related to the dwarf family , but created a fiction in an attempt at survival.
   In fact this allowed these little Jews to survive and eventually move to Israel.Not only did they survive but Mengele and his cohorts treated them fairly well in comparison to the death camp conditions prevailing in Auschwitz.
   Besides being a fascinating Holocaust story, it is also a moving human interest story dealing with Jewish life in Northern Rumania and the Jewish attitude towards the preforming arts in pre War Rumania and Hungary . Given that this family was Orthodox , their role in theatre and was especially difficult for them to navigate. The book also has some interesting information about "Badchanus" an art that is only now being revived in the Chasidic community in the US, Israel and Belgium.
   Of course the book offers an account of life as a dwarf and , how these people live meaningful lives on both a day to day basis and in the long run in terms of livelyhood and marriage. The authors have presented a finely crafted book , that is both a dramatic account of one family's struggle to survive in the darkest of times and the same familys joy of life in dealing with a challenged reality.

5 comments about Jews Who Rock.

1. finally found a great B'nai mitzvah book that all kids like. This little book is really packed with info on famous musicians who happen to be Jewish. Our whole family enjoyed it!



2. Thanks to Maroon 5's Adam Levine and superstars Evan & Jaron...isn't about time this book gets updated? HAPPY HANUKKAH!



3. After having received this book as a gift, one wonders how much griping is allowable. Nonetheless, after having skimmed through the book and after having read the entry on Bob Dylan, it gave me good pause. Since there were multiple errors on Dylan's one page, it naturally made me ask the question, "How many other errors might abound?" I am not proposing that the book should be error-free (no book is), but after having read some of the reviews, it's clear that someone should take the responsibility (Guy Oseary? or maybe his editor or researcher? or maybe the publisher?) for the many errors that fill its pages.

   I'll simply point out the errors on the Dylan page. The singer did not graduate from the University of Minnesota in 1959 (nor any other university). He graduated from his high school, Hibbing High, in 1959, and then merely attended the Univ. of Minn. for a few semesters. And Dylan's second album, "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" didn't come out in 1962 (it was 1963). Additionally, to say Dylan's songs "extolled the use of certain drugs" and to use "Rainy Day Women #12&35" as an example ("everybody must get stoned"), oversimplifies things; the lyrics to this song are actually quite rich (despite them being made almost cliche because of radio overplay and overplay in concert) but Dylan has denied--on more than one occasion--writing "drug songs." In one interview he mentioned it was hard enough to write songs without making it harder [through drugs].

   After referencing the 1966 era, we're then told that Dylan "toured and recorded tirelessly" for the next 30 years. Really? Most fans will vividly recall when Dylan did not embark on a single tour from 1967-1973; he also abstained from touring in 1977, 1982-1983 and 1985.

   And the "Never-Ending Tour" is listed as "1988-1996" which is odd. Dylan's touring didn't stop in 1996 (this book was published in 2001), it has continued to this day, i.e., "1988-2002."

   As for the book's statement that "Bob took his adopted name from poet Dylan Thomas," this too isn't factual. Dylan has denied this on a number of occasions and others close to Dylan have corroborated his denial although the exact origins of the name are not entirely clear (typical Dylan).

   We are also informed that Dylan was involved with the Lubavitch movement in Jerusalem in 1984. But this is the wrong location, and year. He studied with the Lubavitchers in Brooklyn in 1983.

   And then there's the matter-of-fact statement that Dylan "explored various religions outside of Judaism, to which he ultimately returned." In 1979-1981, Dylan did more than "explore" Jesus (and he still sings about Jesus, for whatever reason, to this day). He also has never announced his departure from or return to Judaism. In typical contrarion fashion, Dylan quoted a biblical passage from the Hebrew Scriptures on his 1980 album, "Saved." And then in 1984, the year after he studied with the Lubavitchers, Dylan was asked if he thought the Old and New Testaments were equally valid. He replied, "To me." (Rolling Stone interview with Kurt Loder). Dylan has participated in the Lubavitchers' Chabad telethons (1986, 1989 & 1991) but has also continued to sing songs from the "Slow Train/Saved."

   Even with all the religion hububb aside, it seems that for all I've pointed out it could've been a case of my having scoured through a full-length book...but it was, again, only a one-page entry on Dylan! And there were many errors, so buyer beware.

   Maybe one day we'll have an updated, mostly corrected edition and some quotes from the artists on the significance of their rich cultural heritage.




4. I have not read the book. I leafed through it in a book store. What can I add that others haven't already said. The one page bios are superficial and there are many mistakes and omissions.

   I response to the reviewer who said that Iggy is Jewish. Well he isn't. I read his autobiography about 12 years ago. I think he said his father was an orphan who had been adopted by a non-practicing Jewish family. But he wasn't brought up Jewish. Iggy isn't Jewish by decent, upbringing or in any other way except in name (James Newell OSTERBERG) You can hear various anti-Semitic remarks in live and `unofficial' recordings of the Stooges.




5. This book has short profiles of Jews in rock n roll. One reviewer accurately set forth many serious omissions including two great Jays, Jay Segal of the Tokens and Jay Black of Jay and the Americans. I also noticed that the great producer for Atlantic Records, Jerry Wexler was not listed. This book includes very short profiles with little substance. Therefore, this book is not much more than a list.

   I found a profile of Carny Wilson interesting in which the author stated she is Jewish on her father's side. Really? Since when is Brian Wilson of the Beachboys Jewish?? Also, people who have some Jewish blood from their father's side but never lived as Jews are included so, the definition of a Jew is stretched. The book was a good idea but, it just doesn't cut it.

No comments about Women of Valor: Stories of Great Jewish Women Who Helped Shape the Twentieth Century.

5 comments about Maimonides (Jewish Encounters).

1. Maimonidies' two biggest contributions to civilization were his religious writings, and medical practice. As author Sherwin Nuland himself points out, Maimonidies' truest, lasting legacy are his religious writings. Yet probably because he himself is a doctor, Sherwin Nuland emphasizes the medical Maimonidies at the expense of not giving the religious Maimonidies his proper due. When reading this book, Maimonidies sounded like quite an ordinary man, nothing special, and the truth is, as a doctor he was nothing special. Yet in religious circles, he is a giant. This specialness of Maimonidies was lost in this short biography of this great man.



2. The most interesting parts of this book focus on Maimonides the physician (as opposed to Maimonides the religious leader, where Nuland's discussion is a bit too sparse here and there). Maimonides (known to most Jews as Rambam) did not develop new medical knowledge, but wrote ten books synthesizing existing medical knowledge in a clear and concise way, and even occasionally criticizing the Greco-Roman masters whose works dominated medieval medicine. By the low standards of the Middle Ages, this passed for genius.
   
   Nuland links Rambam's religious and medical careers by pointing out that in both areas, Rambam focused heavily on codifying existing knowledge in ways that would be easy for the public to use.
   
   Nuland also engages in interesting speculation about a variety of other issues, including:
   
   1. Why were Jews so likely to be doctors in the Middle Ages? Nuland asserts that (a) Christians were uninterested in medicine because they were more ascetic, (b) because priests could not take employment as doctors, the Christian talent pool for medicine was artificially diminished and (c) because Jews' wealth could easily be taken away, Jews had a strong incentive to seek portable skills (as opposed to investing in fixed assets such as land).
   
   2. Why was Rambam so uninterested in accommodating or discussing competing religious views? Nuland speculates that because of Judaism's dire condition in those days (beset in persecution in some places and the temptation of assimilation into Islam in more tolerant places) Rambam may have felt the need to "circle the wagons" by encouraging as much uniformity as possible.
   
   3. Why did Rambam (who generally opposed Messianic speculation) suggest in his letter to Yemenite Jews that prophecy might return in 1216? Nuland suggests that Rambam may have been trying to defang Messianic fever by setting a date so far in advance that he could not be disproven during his lifetime.



3. Nuland has accomplished the difficult task of summarizing Maimonides' complex writings in a way that is accessible to the common reader. Nuland's style is clear and concise, and he obviously admires Maimonides as a sort of Renaissance man before the Renaissance. It is true that the book gives considerable attention to Maimonides' life as a physician, but as someone who has dipped a bit into Maimonides' writings on Jewish law and thought but knew little of his place in medical history, I didn't see that as a problem. In fact, I found that that made this book even more enlightening.
   
   I could have used more discussion of the Guide to the Perplexed, however, beyond the notions that the book is difficult and that some see it as a hidden confession by Maimonides of his lack of belief (an unlikely hypothesis). The Guide is an extraordinarily fascinating book, from all I understand, and Nuland does not do it justice.



4. it shows you right way about life
   i think it is possible to adopt it to today.
   it was very interesting book for me.
   it is the kind of book that i always enjoy reading



5. Dr. Nuland, himself a Jewish physician, was understandably reluctant to engage in doing the biography of perhaps the ultimate Jewish physician of all time: Moses Ben Maimon also referred to as Rambam or Maimonides.
   
   His reluctance was understandable on a number of levels. First, Maimonides was of pronounced expertise in the healing arts. Not only the author of ten medical books, he had through dint of skill managed to elevate himself to being court physician at the court of Saladin.
   
   Second, for Jewish thought (and derivatively for western thought itself) Maimonides was significant for his recognition of and attempt to deal with the conflict between the canonized precepts of faith and the unanswered questions of science. His "Guide for the Perplexed" itself perplexing is an attempt in some ways an attempt at striking a balance.
   
   However, in both ways Nuland managed to briefly make the material accessible to the reader.
   
   And significantly also, Nuland managed to connect the reader with Maimonides humanity...his early difficulties with learning, his grief at the loss of his brother and his joy in parenthood.
   
   In this way, Nuland managed to create and even more iconic figure because rather than putting him a pedistal, Nuland put Maimonides right next to you...all the more human and therefore all the more relevant.

5 comments about Julius Rosenwald: The Man Who Built Sears, Roebuck And Advanced the Cause of Black Education in the American South (Philanthropic and Nonprofit Studies).

1. On page 74, this book states, ...[Sears] now sold prefabricated houses...Each piece of the house was clearly marked...The Sears houses...remained in the catalog until the late 1930s..."
   
   I can't speak to the rest of this book's accuracy as it relates to the rest of Rosenwald's fascinating life, but I am able to authoritatively say that this wee snippet about Sears Homes is NOT accurate.
   
   Sears did NOT sell prefabricated homes in the early 1900s. These houses were pre-cut, not prefabricated and lest one think I'm splitting hairs, these two terms have radically different meanings. Words *are* important.
   
   Next, each piece of the home was *not* clearly marked. More than 1/3 of Sears Homes had NO markings on the lumber. THis idea (that each piece had a mark) is another common misconception that is oft-repeated but has no basis in fact. And, the only pieces of Sears Homes that were "marked" were the framing members - and only after 1920 (or later).
   
   Last, these homes did not "remain in the catalog" until the 1930s. Sears had a page or two in their catalogs promoting their specialty catalogs, "Sears Modern Homes catalogs". Those "Sears Modern Homes catalogs" were issued semiannually until their last catalog was issued in 1940.
   
   The story of Sears is an important one and it's even more important that the facts in that story be historically accuate.
   
   Rose Thornton
   author, The Houses That Sears Built



2. This book is an in depth and intriguing study of the businessman and philanthropist, Julius Rosenwald (JR), and the early twentieth century. I congratulate Dr. Ascoli for thoroughly researching and telling JR's story. Unfortunately, until this book was published few living Americans knew of JR and his impact on American society. The reader will be amazed to learn that so many business practices that we take for granted today e.g.profit sharing were ideas of JR's and begun at Sears. In philanthropy, too, he was innovative and cleverly spread his wealth to broad elements of society while he was alive---not perpetuating it through a foundation after his death.
   The book should be required reading for MBA students, students of American history and law and those in the philanthropic and non profit studies field and everyone else will find it fascinating too.



3. An absorbing account of Julius Rosenwald's rise in the mail-order world of merchandise and the changing world of class, politics and culture. Here was a man who made millions at the turn of the 20th Century and proceeded to give it to society in areas where he felt it lacked. A must read for all of those involved with and interested in the world of philanthropy, the African-American experience and history.



4. Julius Rosenwald: The Man Who Built Sears, Roebuck And Advanced The Cause Of Black Education In The American South by Peter M. Ascoli (an academician and the grandson of Julius Rosenwald) is the definitive biography of Rosenwald, a pioneer not only in transforming Sears, Roebuck into the greatest mail-order firm in the world, but also in philanthropy. He helped build more than 5,300 schools in the American South, among other efforts to improve the lives of his fellow citizens such as the Rosenwald Fund. Exhaustively researched and packed cover to cover with minute detail, Julius Rosenwald is highly recommended reading given its author's considerable accomplishments in business and humanitarian spheres alike.



5. This is a fascinating book about a man who was a well-known business man and philanthropist in his day and is all but unheard of today. In his well-researched and interestingly written account of Julius Rosenwald, Peter Ascoli vividly portrays a man who was ambitious, idealistic, groundbreaking in many ways, and humble. While JR, as the author calls him, is known mainly for his excellent management and leadership at Sears, it was his philanthropy that made JR stand out. In these days of the super rich, business scandals such as Enron, and Warren Buffet's recent gift to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, this story of an upstanding business man with morals, and a humble philanthropist this is biography is extremely relevent, and it is a story that needed to be told.

No comments about Another Face of Empire: Bartolomé de Las Casas, Indigenous Rights, and Ecclesiastical Imperialism (Latin America Otherwise).

1 comments about The Assisi Underground: The Priests Who Rescued Jews.

1. It is unfortunate that this book is out of print, because it is an outstanding modern-day tale about being our brother's keeper. Set in the Italian town of Assisi during World War II, "The Assisi Underground" tells the true story of a network of Catholic clergy, nuns, and lay persons who secretly provided shelter and aid to Jewish refugees escaping from the ravages of the war, German pursuers, and Fascist loyalists. Narrating the story in the first person is Padre Rufino, an earthy Franciscan priest who lead the network on orders from his bishop. Through Rufino, author Alexander Ramati relates in fine detail the difficult logistics of the operation from the arrival of the refugees at their monastery shelters to their safe passage to Allied-occupied zones. The book is exciting as it is moving; the reader is treated to the cloak-and-dagger aspects of the operation as well as its desperate but ultimately triumphant moments. (A motion-picture adaptation written and directed by Mr. Ramati was released in 1985, yet it does no justice to the book). To those searching a copy through a library or second-hand bookstore, I will say it is worth the effort.

4 comments about To Jerusalem and Back (Penguin Classics).

1. Well known , Nobel prize winning author , put his pen to the service of recording his 1975 visit to the Land of Israel and his thoughts on the dillemas faced by Israel at the time , and on world politics at large in the mid 1970's.
   The author puts down his observations , from his thoughts about Hassidim on a plane from Heathrow to Ben Gurion airport to a secular kibbutz near Ceasarea, and his meetings with leaders and thinkers in Israel such as former Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban , Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kolleck , poet and journalist Chaim Gouri and professor Yehoshafat Harkabi as well as Arab figures like Mahmoud Abu Zuluf , editor of the al Kuds , at the time the largest Arab language newspaper in Jerusalem , who'se life , and the life of his children , the author reports where threatened for his relatively 'moderate and conciliatory' line.
   
   Although Abu Zuluf later became a stooge of Arafat and the PLO.
   Bellow observes the Israeli people as lacking in rancour or bitterness against the Arabs , despite being constantly under the threat of anihilation and targeted by terrorism.
   The threat of anihilation , of a second holocaust , looms permanently in the Israeli mind , leading one of Bellow's aquaintances to observe that it would be a horrible irony if the Jews being gathered in one place enabled a second holocaust to become a reality.
   since before the State of Israel was established the Jews of Israel have had to live with terror , an example in this book being a homicide attack ""on the Jaffa Road, because of another bomb, six adolescents-two on a break from school-stopping at a coffee shop to eat buns, have just died."
   
   It is because of his relatively sympathetic portrait of the Israeli people in this volume , that Bellow came under attack from anti-Israel high priest of the ultra-left , Noam Chomsky.
   Bellow muses on the attempts made by Jean Paul Sartre to balance his understanding of Israel, with his sympathy of the Arabs and his anti-American stance.
   
   This book was written in the embryonic stages of anti-Israel hatemongering from leftwing academics in the West , alhtough it must be noted that all their propaganda was created in the old Soviet Union , where the 'Zionism is racism' canard was created .
   In a heartfelt plea the author writes: 'I sometimes wonder why it is impossible for Western intellectuals...to say to the Arabs " We have to demmand also more from you. You too-the Marxists among you in particular- must try to do something for brotherhood and make peace with the Jews , for they have suffered monstrously in Christian Europe and under Islam. Israel occupies under one sixth of one percent of the lands you call Arab. Isn't it possible to adjust the traditions of Islam , to reinterpret , to change , to change emphasis , so as to accept the trifling occupancy? A great civilization should be capable of humane and generous flexibility. The destruction of Israel will do you no good, let the Jews live in their small state".
   In reporting on a converstaion with Professor Jacob Leib Talmon , Bellow reports Talmon's warnings that 'the fate of Jewry in Israel and the Diaspora , is so closely linked he says , that the destruction of Israel would bring with it 'the destruction of corporate Jewish existance all over the world , and a catastrophy that might overtake US Jewry"
   Alas , in the 30 years since this was written , leftwing academics (and the media) around the world have been the main force in hardening Arab attitudes , by taking up anti-Israel hatred to Nazi-like levels.
   
   While the author has an overall understanding attitude of the Israeli people , he is rather less so of the Jewish residents of the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria, not quite seeming to understand the depth of the Jewish right to and connection with this part of the Land of Israel.



2. This book is less about the Jerusalem that Bellow visited and more about himself. Indeed, his presence is so pronounced that he appears more fascinated with his own perceptions than he is with what he is witnessing, or so it seemed to me. While the writing is clear and vivid, I can now recall virtually nothing of what he describes, except for himself and his personal reactions - it is he who sees things more clearly than his hosts, etc etc. After 100 pages, this is boring. Alas, I got nothing out of this and it is also badly dated.
   
   Not recommended.



3. Bellow came to Jerusalem as celebrated novelist . Every door was open to him , and he met with Israelis from all walks of life. He writes an essentially sympathetic and understanding account of Israel and its special situation. He knows the score in terms of the Jewish past, the great sufferings many of the survivors living in Israel have gone through. He understands the constant threat from their Arab neighbors under which Israel lives. But he tries to see the situation too with sympathy for the Arab side. His basic line politically is of the left, and he clearly favors political compromise.
   The book does provide a pretty fair picture of Israeli society. But it is possible to quarrel with Bellow's basic orientation which is that of a Diaspora Jew who does not feel any call to Aliyah to Israel, and does not have much understanding or sympathy for a good share of its population, the religious.
   All in all though this is an insightful look into Israeli society by a commentator of great intelligence and literary skill.



4. How can one describe this classic book on Israel? At one level it is a personal account of one American writer's journey to Israel and England and back but scratch beneath the surface and you see the incredible panoply of faces and voices that is Israel. Here is A.B. Yehoshoua who writes "that because our spiritual life ... cannot revolve around anything but [political questions], you cannot spare yourself, spiritually, for other things." Here is a bomb going off in London just as it recently did in Israel. And here is Saul Bellow mourning the "six young [British] people" who were murdered while simultaneously noting that "the difference is that when a bomb goes off in a West End restaurant the fundamental right of England to exist is not in dispute."

   Here is Abu Zuluf, editor of El Kuds whose automobile terrorists have blown up because he is trying to follow what Saul Bellow feels is a "line of conciliation and peace."

   Here is the Greek quarter in Jerusalem covered in grapevine; there is the Jewish quarter where the principal relic is the ben-Zakkai synagogue, blown up by the Jordanians when they took over in 1948 and as Saul Bellow walks toward it he hears, somewhere, as Arab boys are racing their donkeys down a hill.

   Here is a Yemenite synagogue; there a Souk, the public market. And everywhere there is a profusion of communities: Arabs, Jews from Arab lands, Asian lands, Europe, Africa, Christians, Kurds, Hindus.... Everywhere a cacophony of voices; everywhere people mingling, arguing, making peace, making war, while philosophers philosophize and writers write.

   And he sits down to dinner with families who have lost children and as he passes dishes (Sephardic dishes, Indian dishes, Arab dishes, European dishes all mixed together) "on the Jaffa Road, because of another bomb, six adolescents-two on a break from school-stopping at a coffee shop to eat buns, have just died."

   "This is how we live, mister," a cabby tells Bellow (in what language: Ladino, Hebrew, Arabic?), "his voice cracking. "Okay? We live this way."

1 comments about People of the Bible: Life and Customs.

1. This book is excellent from children through adult. It really helps to understand the beginnings of a faith community in a way that children can understand and adults can as well. It is an easy read without the long details. I woudl strongly recommend it for anyone who works with students of all ages

4 comments about Etty: The Letters and Diaries of Etty Hillesum 1941-1943.

1. This book is one of the most touching and inspiring books I ever read. This book will touch the heart of anyone - whether Jew, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, etc. and even an atheist!
   
   The battle of a soul in those dark days (the German Occupation in the Second War World) trying to keep sane, asking herself how not to loose hope and remain human, avoiding hate, in spite of all what is going around her. This is a journey of a Soul from focusing in herself changing to focus in the world around her.
   
   I bought the book also for 3 friends of mine as a New Year present!
   
   P.S.: Since my English is NOT my mother tong (I'm an Israeli), I'm apologizing in advance for spelling (and other mistakes). Thank you for understanding.



2. I read this book over twenty years ago and it remains one of the most inspirational books I've ever read. I leant it to a client who lost it so I must buy another. Thankfully it's still available.



3. A young woman who is running out of time writes about her experiences as a prisoner of the Nazis in a concentration camp in World War II in 1940s Europe. She responds to the demands of society and of life as she finds it in both its pedestrian and hopeful forms, while also musing about what a distracted God might be doing up in heaven as so many innocent people perish at the hands of so many cowardly and sadistic oppressors. Ultimately she converts to Catholism and she dies in a concentration camp at the age of 29. Even with the crushing and depressing burden of a predatory society of captors constantly hovering over her, captors to whom she would soon sucuumb by her physical death, she wrote about life, social roles, her relationships with others and God prodigiously before her life was stolen from her in a dark place and a dark time by the human forces of evil. The strength she must have called upon to do this work while living in day to day oppresssion and unrelenting misery is stunning to imagine.



4. Etty began life with the same silly angst and shallow aspirations that we endure each day. Then came the war and her experience as a Jew in Holland. The transformation of this young intellectual to a woman of great depth takes the reader on a soul journey of such transcendence that one's paradigms are forever changed.

   Add to the story a great and musical quality of writing and a brilliant mind . You have Etty, my heroine, my mentor.