This post was originally published on here
The Jewish calendar is notoriously imbalanced. After all of the holidays jammed into the month of Tishrei, it is nearly two full months before we celebrate the next one, Hanukkah.
What do you do with the time in between?
In 1923, Boston librarian, Fanny Goldstein, created a Jewish Book Week to highlight and discuss Jewish books. Two years later, in 1925 (100 years ago this year) that week became a national celebration in libraries and Jewish organizations across the country.
In 1940, Jewish Book Week was moved from the spring to this particular lull on the Jewish calendar before Hanukkah where it could be used to promote Jewish books as gifts for Hanukkah. Three years later, in 1943, Jewish Book Week was expanded to Jewish Book Month, whose observance the Jewish Book Council keeps alive today — though Jewish books as Hanukkah gifts are still a great idea!
A monthlong literary celebration befits a people known as “The People of the Book.” The term first appears in Arabic (Ahl al-Kitab) in the Koran, where it refers to a group of peoples — including Jews — whose recognized sacred scriptures granted them certain protections under Islamic rule. The Jewish community continued to embrace the designation as a term of honor. However, more than merely a book, we should really be called “The People of the Library.”
The most important of our sacred texts, the Torah, is itself actually five books — Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy — inscribed together in one scroll from which we read aloud in congregational worship. Published in book form, the Torah can contain, as well, any number of commentaries and reflections from the medieval to the early modern to current contemporary time periods, and just as wide a range of perspectives.
The Hebrew Bible (also called the Tanakh in Hebrew and known as the Old Testament in Christian parlance) begins with the five books of the Torah and then can contain the books of the Prophets and Writings, 24 books traditionally counted, in all. While the cannon of biblical literature was closed after those 24 books, the Hebrew Bible continues to inspire a range of literature.
Midrash — rabbinic stories collected into a variety of books and compilations — elaborates on biblical text, fills in its gaps, tries to reconcile its apparent discrepancies or contradictions and poses questions and answers as to its meaning. Midrash was written as early as the first century C.E. and continues in various creative formats today.
Whereas Midrash is often associated with the narrative parts of biblical text, the Mishnah, compiled in 200 C.E., is primarily concerned with its legal and practical implementation. How is the Sabbath to be observed? What about the rest of the holidays on the Jewish calendar? How, in the absence of the ancient Temple, should worship take place?
The Mishnah has six Orders (roughly equivalent to books), but conversations about its content continued beyond one or even two generations of oral tradition. Extensive commentary on those six orders was eventually compiled into the 63 tractates of the Talmud. Discussion meanders greatly across any given page of Talmud, so yet another kind of rabbinic literature developed, called Codes. These are organized thematically and designed to help a reader locate an answer regarding Jewish practice more expeditiously.
Of course, no Jewish library would be complete without prayer books (for Shabbat, holidays, life cycle rituals and home observances), history books or — some would say most importantly — cookbooks!
There has been a proliferation in recent years of wonderful books that offer a comprehensive introduction to Jewish practice. One of my favorites is Wayne Dosick’s “Living Judaism: The Complete Guide to Jewish Belief, Tradition and Practice.” Jewish novels, like Anita Diamant’s “The Red Tent” and Maggie Anton’s “Rashi’s Daughters” series, are in many ways a modern continuation of ancient genres of Jewish literature. And the amazing work by PJ Library ensures that all Jewish families with children ages 0-12 receive new, age-appropriate additions to their Jewish libraries each month.
And that’s still only the tip of the iceberg. So allow me to simply wish you all a happy Jewish Book Month and hope that, during this month that celebrates Jewish books and literature, you find something in print that touches your heart, stimulates your mind and speaks to your soul. May books ever continue to nourish the spirits of the Jewish people, and all people, as they have throughout the generations.
Rabbi Stephanie Alexander
Rabbi Stephanie M. Alexander serves as the senior rabbi of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (KKBE) in downtown Charleston. Since Rabbi Alexander’s arrival in 2010, KKBE has expanded its opportunities for lifelong learning, made multiple trips to Israel and other worldwide destinations, welcomed dynamic scholars and artists in residence and deepened its involvement in social justice. Rabbi Alexander and KKBE are proud founding members of CAJM, the Charleston Area Justice Ministry.
