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Book Review by Morton I. Teicher

The Choosing by Andrea Myers.
New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2011. 186 Pages. $19.95

            The author of this memoir, Andrea Myers, is a convert to Judaism, a rabbi, a lesbian, a vegetarian, and a mother. Any one of these identities warrants far more extended treatment than the once-over lightly discussion that is presented here. We are given a cursory consideration of each subject, resulting in a relatively superficial presentation. Readers will come away feeling that they have a perfunctory, lightweight acquaintance with the author in her many roles and wishing that they could know more about her.

             The book is organized into thirteen chapters, each one starting with a brief description of a Jewish holiday. Myers sparingly tells us about her family of origin which included a Sicilian Catholic mother and a German Lutheran father. When she was a student at Brandeis, Myers decided to become a Jew. She provides a scant explanation of this decision along with minimal information about the process of her conversion and the people involved in it.

             She glosses lightly over her decision to become a rabbi and the education she received to achieve this goal. She was ordained at the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York which was founded in 1956 as a non-denominational seminary to educate rabbis for the entire Jewish community. Later, she became a Reform rabbi although she maintains a close link with the Academy for Jewish Religion. Her identification with the Reform movement involved a trip to Cincinnati to see the original menu for the 1883 banquet at Hebrew Union College which celebrated the first ordination of American rabbis at an American seminary. The non-kosher food that was featured stirred considerable controversy. Strangely, Myers writes somewhat approvingly about this occasion even though, today, it is a source of embarrassment to most Reform Jewish leaders. Other peripheral comment about foods – Myers lets us know that she doesn’t like gefilte fish and that she has an aversion to pork that preceded her becoming a Jew.

            The book contains descriptions of how Myers’s family celebrated the holidays, differentiating these experiences from her observance of Jewish holidays. She writes somewhat briskly about her studies in Jerusalem, calling it “a beautiful place,” and she offers minimal comments about today’s situation in Israel. In keeping with the book’s accent on brevity, Myers tells us a bit about her partner, Lisa, who is also a rabbi, their wedding, and their children.

            It is a tribute to Myers’s interesting and complicated life that readers will put this book down wishing to know more about her and her experiences. She is a fine writer and one finishes the book wishing that she will use her skills to give us an in-depth exploration of her various identities.    

 

Dr. Morton I. Teicher is the Founding Dean of the Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University and Dean Emeritus, School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Book Review by Morton I. Teicher
 

The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons
New York: Plume, 2012. 359 Pages. $15

     In March, 1938, Hitler forcibly took over Austria in what became known as the “Anschluss,” the compelled union of Germany and Austria. The Jews of Austria tried to flee but for many of them, it was too late. This novel focuses on one well-to-do Jewish family in Vienna – the Landaus – and describes what happened to them. Emphasis is placed on Elise, the 19-year old daughter, who succeeded in obtaining a position as a parlor maid at Tyneford House in England. The plan was for her parents, Anna and Julian; her married sister, Margot; and her brother-in-law, Robert, to go to the United States where Elise would eventually join them. As the story unfolds, we sadly learn how and why the plan did not come to fruition.  These dire developments and the unhappy fate of Austrian Jews receive somewhat less emphasis than Elise’s experiences after she left Vienna.

         Tyneford House is an elegant manor, close to the sea, with a large staff of servants who look after the estate and its aristocratic master, Christopher Rivers.  He is a widower with one son, Kit, who is away from home, studying at Cambridge. Elise’s involvements with these two men occupy most of the book. She also makes friends with some of the local people and she is exposed to the military – both male and female – who train in the vicinity of Tyneford.

         A crucial World War II event was the arduous evacuation of British soldiers from Dunkirk. Skillfully blending fact and fiction, author Solomons describes this experience emphasizing the involvement of English seacoast residents, including those at Tyneford and its environs. The consequences of what happened at Dunkirk haunt the rest of the story.

         Another reality element in the narrative is the home of Tyneford House in the village of Tyneford which is based on the ghost village of Tyneham on the Dorset coast. Requisitioned by the government during World War II, it is now a decayed ruin. The fate of this location; its significance for the story; and the catastrophe that befell Austria’s Jews impressively combine to represent Solomons’ success in blending fiction and history. She has captured the spirit of a past era, introducing believable characters who participate in and are affected by historical events.

         There are, of course, many novels that deal with the Holocaust. And, there are many non-fictional accounts of this great tragedy. Solomons has given us a truthful picture of the era she describes, using history as the backdrop for romantic experiences. The characters she has so skillfully created provide penetrating insights into the impact of historical events on the people who lived through them. Her book is not only a praiseworthy addition to Holocaust literature; it is a fine example of historical fiction at its very best.

 

Dr. Morton I. Teicher is the Founding Dean, Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University and Dean Emeritus, School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Book Review by Morton I. Teicher

When General Grant Expelled the Jews by Jonathan D. Sarna.
New York: Schocken Books, 2012. 226 Pages. $24.95
 

         This is the twentieth book in “Jewish Encounters,” published jointly by Schocken Books and Nextbook under the editorship of Jonathan Rosen. Author Sarna is an eminent American Jewish historian who offers here a well-written account of a rather shameful episode in the experience of Jews in the United States.

         On December 17, 1862, during the Civil War, Major  General Ulysses S. Grant, commander of the area that included parts of Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky, issued “General Orders, No. 11,” expelling Jews from this territory. They were accused of profiteering through black-market activities. One Jewish merchant, affected by this ban, Cesar Kaskel, immediately went to Washington where he managed to see President Lincoln and persuaded him to revoke the order. Sarna describes the horrified reactions of Jews to this incident and its life-long impact on Grant. He was roundly condemned by both Jews and non-Jews but he remained silent.

         Grant went on to become a national hero, eventually accepting Lee’s surrender at the Appomattox Court House. In 1868, he ran for president and his opponents revived the story of what happened during the Civil War, accusing him of anti-Semitism. The charges fell flat and Grant went on to serve two terms in the White House. He worked hard to achieve reconciliation with the Jewish community by demonstrating sensitivity to their concerns and by appointing more Jews to governmental offices than any previous president. eHeHHHHH He tried to persuade Joseph Seligman to become secretary of the Treasury which would have made him the first Jew in a Cabinet position but Seligman’s family convinced him to remain in the family business. A far more successful outcome developed from Grant’s selection of Albert A. Michelson for appointment to Annapolis. Michelson went on to become the first American to win the Nobel Prize in physics.

         Grant was only fifty-five years old when he left office. He traveled extensively, including a visit to the Holy Land, the first president ever to do so. Grant met with many Jews during the course of his trips, reinforcing friendships and signaling continuing atonement for what happened during the Civil War. Also, during his post-presidency years, he referred warmly to the Jews he knew. He spoke out in protest about the poor treatment Jews were receiving in Russia and Romania.

         Although Grant was originally not rated very high as a president, a 2008 poll of political pundits elevated him to number 18. While Sarna is somewhat measured in his appraisal of Grant, he has provided readers with a fair review which clearly suggests that the more recent evaluation is accurate. In any case, Sarna has made a worthy addition to the “Jewish Encounters” series.

 

Dr. Morton I. Teicher is the Founding Dean, Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University and Dean Emeritus, School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Book Review by Morton I. Teicher

The Crisis of Zionism by Peter Beinart.
New York: Times Books/Henry Holt & Co., 289 Pages. $26
 

         Americans generally subscribe to the myth that there is a solution to every problem. Neither history nor current experience supports that belief. There are problems without solutions and the one tackled in Peter Beinart’s third book is an illustration of this truth.  He deals with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the relationship of American Jews to it, bringing impressive credentials to the subject. A Yale graduate in history and political science, Beinart was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford where he earned a master’s degree in international relations. He then worked in various editorial capacities at the New Republic from 1995 to 2006. After two years as Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Berinart became an associate professor at City University of New York, writer for the Daily Beast, and Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation. He is married to lawyer Diana Hartstein and they have two children who attend a Jewish school. He worships regularly in an Orthodox synagogue.   

         Beinart’s book enlarges an article he wrote for the New York Review of Books in 2010, criticizing Israel for its occupation of the West Bank and its treatment of Palestinians. He claimed that young American Jews are turned off by this behavior, leading to their rejection of Zionism and their criticism of Israel. To counter this alienation of young Jews, Beinart offers several suggestions. First, better Jewish education; second, support for J Street, the liberal organization that argues for painful compromise with the Palestinians; third, change the name of the occupied territories to “nondemocratic Israel”; finally, and most controversially, he calls for a boycott of all products produced in the settlements.

         What Beinart fails to recognize is that he is proposing simplistic solutions to a complex problem that has no solution. There is no foreseeable approach to dealing with people who refuse to recognize the validity of Israel’s existence and who are committed to its elimination. The intransigent nature of the problem was best demonstrated at the end of Clinton’s presidency when Barak vainly offered Arafat practically everything he sought. Beinart’s spin on what happened contradicts Clinton’s account and demonstrates that he ultimately has no solution for the unyielding problem of Palestinian-Israeli relations.

         Beinart’s article and book have evoked negative comment that fails to recognize how Judaism welcomes debate. Indeed, the Talmud is filled with differing opinions expressed by the schools of Hillel and Shammai. The Hasidic sage, Rabbi Nachman of Bratislav saw debate as a holy form of communication. Similarly, Beinart’s views deserve consideration and cannot be ignored.  As an informed commentator on the Palestinian-Israeli dispute, he should not be demonized. We may differ from him but he has a right to be heard. 

         However – and this is a crucial “however,”-  Beinart should be seen as one who is proposing a solution to an intractable problem. Perhaps, one day, new generations of American Jews, Israelis, and Palestinians will find answers to the conundrum of the Middle East. At present, and despite Beinart’s ideas,  the situation remains a problem without a solution.

 

Dr. Morton I. Teicher is the Founding Dean, Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University and Dean Emeritus, School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Book Review by Morton I. Teicher

The Spinoza Problem by Irvin D. Yalom
New York: Basic Books, 2012. 352 Pages. $25.99
 

         The author of this unusual novel, Irvin D. Yalom, celebrated his 80th birthday in June, 2011. He grew up in a Jewish family in Washington, DC. An eminent psychiatrist, he spent his academic career at Stanford University, where he is now Professor Emeritus. His professional contributions include books on group therapy and existential psychotherapy that are  used as psychology texts. This new book is his fourth novel. It follows a format comparable to Everyday Gets a Little Closer, in which Yalom presents the process of psychotherapy through alternating sections that describe the experiences of the patient and the therapist.

         The Spinoza Problem uses a similar format, presenting chapters on Spinoza in the 17th century followed by ones dealing with the Nazi Party leader, Alfred Rosenberg, in the 20th century. What brings them together is Rosenberg’s attraction as a student to the writings of Spinoza through his admiration for Goethe whose autobiography identifies Spinoza as his personal hero. For Rosenberg, this is a special problem since he was also an enthusiastic reader of racist Houston Chamberlain, a notorious anti-Semite who married Eva Wagner, the composer’s daughter, and became a German citizen. Although Rosenberg went on to become an acolyte of Hitler and a functionary in the Nazi party, he never resolved the dilemma of Goethe’s admiration for Spinoza. Indeed, during World War II, he used his power as a Nazi official to confiscate the books in the Spinoza library in the Netherlands for removal to Germany.

         The sections of the book that deal with Spinoza begin with his being asked to help Franco, a Portuguese Jew who arrived in Amsterdam after having been forced to convert to Christianity in Portugal. He is filled with doubts about his religious faith and he finds a sympathetic ear in Spinoza, becoming a loyal friend for life. Spinoza has one other friend, his Greek instructor, van den Emden, who, together with his precocious young daughter, stands by Spinoza after his ideas lead to his excommunication by the Amsterdam Jewish community.

         The lives of these two men, Spinoza and Rosenberg, separated by 300 years, are assiduously followed by Yalom as he traces what happens to Spinoza and the impact of Spinoza’s ideas on Rosenberg. With heightened loyalty to Hitler, and with increased responsibility in the Nazi party, Rosenberg receives psychiatric treatment to heal his continuing obsession with Spinoza’s concepts.

         Readers are inevitably looped into the circle of events that powerfully affect both Spinoza and Rosenberg. It is a tribute to the author’s skill that he can hold the readers’ interest as he relates what happens to these two men, often introducing intricate notions that call for close attention. Yalom’s intriguing narrative presents a significant stage on which two compelling men credibly experience important events in their lives in such a manner as to present their particular attributes and their personalities in full.

 

Dr. Morton I. Teicher is the Founding Dean, Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University and Dean Emeritus, School of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.