This is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared 
By Alan Lew 
For anyone who has spent hours in a synagogue during the High Holy Days, trying to figure out the point of all those prayers, this book will be a revelation. This one-soul-to-another book feels like it absolutely had to be written, and there are many sentences that, taken alone, are moving contributions to Jewish thought. For readers who have experienced doubt, non-interest in Jewish tradition, or simply bafflement at what is really going on, Lew is an ideal companion. 
Reviewed by Aviya Kushner. For more about this book go to: http://jbooks.com/nonfiction/index/NF_Kushner.htm 

Celebrating the Jewish Holidays 
By Steven Rubin 
This is not just another book on the Jewish holiday cycle. Steven Rubin has assembled a group of contributors that span the historical range of Jewish experience; from Ibn Gabirol and the Spanish "golden age", to wellknown writers such as Bialik, HaLevi, Tchernichovsky, Herzl, and Bashevis Singer, to contemporary poets such as Marge Piercy and Marcia Falk. Adding to the richness of the book is the fact that many of the writers have not as yet achieved mass popularity — one of the pleasures of the book is discovering new writers. The chapters on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are particularly rich. Reviewed by Rabbi Richard Address. For more about this book go to: http://jbooks.com/nonfiction/index/NF_Address.htm 

Days of Awe 
By Achy Obejas 
The title of this novel about the Cuban Jewish Diaspora, refers to the days in the Jewish calendar that fall between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Traditionally, for Jews, these days are a time for wonder and reverence. But for Cuban Jews, writes Obejas,"the same days in the Jewish calendar are called los dias terribles — the terrible days." Ironic disparities like this one fuel many of Obejas’s observations about Cuba and Judaism in this passionate, melancholy novel. Reviewed by Sarah Coleman. For more about this book go to: http://jbooks.com/fiction/index/FI_Coleman.htm 

High Holiday Books for Kids 
By Elizabeth Applebaum
First comes prayer. Then comes a delicious holiday meal with plenty of apples and honey. Next is a nice, long nap (unless you have young children, who have never, ever been tired — just ask them). And after that? Rosh Hashanah provides the perfect opportunity for a late afternoon of family reading. If you’re looking for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur reading for kids, here are some books to consider. 

• The Magic of Kol Nidre, by Bruce H. Siegel 
• The World’s Birthday, by Barbara Diamond Goldin 
• Sophie and the Shofar, by Fran Manushkin 
• Yussel’s Prayer, by Barbara Cohen 
• It’s Rosh Hashanah, by Ellie Gellman 
• A Sound to Remember, by Sonia Levitin 
• The Jewish New Year, by Molly Cone 
• Happy New Year, Beni, by Jane Breskin Zalben

You can read a short description of each of these at http://jbooks.com/children/index/CB_Applebaum_RH.htm

 
This article is from BabagaNewz magazine, a project of The AVI CHAI Foundation and Jewish Family & Life. BabagaNewz is used by nearly 1,000 Jewish schools and is accompanied by a companion Teachers’ Guide, web site, book club, and workshop program. For more information, please visit www.babaganewz.com or call 800–434–3934. 

Israel’s Shofar Master at Work 
By Aryeh Dean Cohen 
Photo by Debbie Zimelman 
The secrets of 15 generations rest on Zvika Bar-Sheshet’s shoulders. His father, Meir (of blessed memory), brought the secrets to Israel in 1947 when he made aliyah from Morocco. Each day, he carried them up the rickety spiral staircase into the tiny workshop above his store on Herzl Street in Haifa.Was he a secret agent for the infant state? No. In this sweltering room, standing on a carpet of calcium shavings, surrounded by the roar of polishing machines and the bitter smell of burnt horns, Meir Bar-Sheshet established the shofar industry in modern Israel.

Israel’s Gift to the World 
"Jewish ritual items are made all over the world, even in Hong Kong and China," Zvika says. "But shofarot (plural of shofar) are made almost exclusively in Israel. They are a special gift from Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) to the Jews of the world." Zvika and his partners, the Riback family in Tel Aviv, are the leading shofar producers in Israel. They make a few hundred shofarot each year."I haven’t been to a synagogue yet, even abroad, where there aren’t shofarot that we’ve made," Zvika says proudly. How does he recognize them? "Every father recognizes his children," he laughs. "There are many identifying characteristics; for example, the type of decoration on the shofar,and evidence of the homemade tools that I used to make the shofar. I can tell you when each shofar was made and where the horn came from." Interestingly, the best horns come from Arab countries, such as Egypt and Morocco,which trade infrequently with Israel. "I have my contacts," Zvika says secretively. His confidential suppliers provide tons of horns, but because the tiniest crack or hole in a horn invalidates it, only about 30 percent of the horns pass inspection and are ready for the next stages: straightening, sawing, drilling, and polishing.

Little Shop of Shofarot 
Zvika picks up a long, twisted horn. He explains that most horns are exceptionally curved and must be heated so they can be straightened. "Too much heat will warp it, and too little heat will leave the horn hard as steel," he says. "The difference is only a matter of seconds." According to Zvika, Sephardim (Jews whose ancestry is from Spain, Portugal, and the Arab countries) generally prefer a straight shofar, which is more expensive because it requires more bending. He thinks this custom developed years ago when local rulers banned Jews from sounding the shofar. Jewish communities resisted the ban by making straight shofarot,which could be hidden easily under their clothes. Once the horns are straightened, they’re ready for the messy process of separating the animal cartilage from inside the horn. Zvika is tightlipped about how he completes this stage without puncturing the horn; it’s one of the secrets handed down from parent to child in the Bar-Sheshet family."I work the way my grandfather worked," he says. Family ties have kept Zvika from moving his shofar factory to one of the modern industrial zones in Israel. "My father moved here," he says,"and sometimes I feel his presence." Therefore, despite the blistering heat and the cramped conditions, Zvika plans to stay put. He and his father worked side by side in this little shop, where the air was always thick with the aroma of burnt horns. "To us," Zvika says fondly, "it was the smell of holiness." For now, at least, the scent of holiness will linger a bit longer at 54 Herzl Street.

Jews from around the world brought different style shofarot with them when they settled in Israel. The Yemenite community, which arrived in Israel in 1950 during "Operation Magic Carpet", prefers a long, curved shofar (see photo). Jewish immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe — called Ashkenazim — were the backbone of the Zionist movement in the late 19th century. Moroccan Jews made aliyah in huge numbers between 1956 and 1967. They brought Moroccan-style shofarot that look similar to the Ashkenazic ones but have a lower tone.

cover | previous page | next page