The Charlotte Jewish News - November, 1995 - Page 7
Speizman Jewish Library
ACIMAN continued from page 1
ignored by the Egyptian headmis
tress, Miss Badawi. In one of the
most disturbing passages of the
book, Aciman recalls being forced
to memorize, in Arabic, a vehe
mently anti-Semitic poem: “The
poem was accompanied by an illus
tration of a young Egyptian soldier
waving a scimitar at three men
clothed in three tattered flags. The
third, a bald, short man with wiry
sideburns, a large hooked nose, and
a pointed beard, was shabbily
draped in the Star of David. I looked
at the twenty-line poem and found
myself sweating as I stared at words
that were literally swimming on the
page. ‘My eyes are burning,’ I said.
Shortly after this incident,
Aciman’s father’s textile factory was
“nationalized” (a euphemism mean
ing it had been seized by the Egyp
tian government), and the family
began to be harassed nightly by an
anonymous telephone caller who
seemed to know their every move.
Yet they continued to cling to Alex
andria until Anally notified that they
were to be forcibly expelled. Their
last week in Alexandria was a blur
of frantic packing and attempts to
sell their furniture, and in the midst
of this, Passover was due to fall on
the eve of the family’s departure.
Aciman’s grief at the prospect of
leaving, and the irony of the timing
of events, is evident when he refuses
his elderly aunt’s pleas to help read
the Haggadah during their last seder
in Egypt: “Each time 1 refused, she
would remind me that it was the last
time this dining room would ever see
a seder... ‘Are you ashamed of be
ing Jewish? Is that it? What kind of
Jews are we, then?’ she kept ask
ing. ‘The kind who don’t celebrate
leaving Egypt when it’s the last
thing they want to do,’ I said.” Later
that evening, after the meal, Aciman
remembers walking alone along the
seafront, taking care to dedicate the
memories of this last night in Alex
andria to the realm of the sacred...
"I knew, that I would always remem
ber this night... that there would
never be another night like this... not
this year nor any other year...I had
caught myself longing for a city I
never knew I loved.”
On Sunday, December 10 at
7:30 p.m., in the JCC’s Gorelick
Hall, Andre Aciman will discuss the
city he loved, his eccentric, exotic,
and loving Sephardic family, and the
vanished world of Jews in Arab
lands; less than 16,000 remain in
Arab nations today. A patrons’ re
ception honoring the author, spon
sored by the family of A1 Rousso in
celebration of their own Sephardic
roots, will follow the evening’s pro
gram.
Tickets for this year’s Book
and Author Evening will be avail
able for $5.00 at the front desk of
the JCC beginning December 1, and
will also be available at the door.
Additional donations are being
sought to help defray the* costs of
the program. Donor levels are
$250.00 for Grand Patrons; $100.00
for Patrons; and $36.00 for Bene
factors. Contact Roz Cooper,
fundraising chairperson, at 366-
5007 ext. 257, to make a donation.
Grand Patrons will receive a com
plimentary copy of Out of Egypt.
Others can purchase the book for
$20.00 at the JCC Front Desk be
ginning November 1. For further
information, please contact Amalia
Warshenbrot, Speizman Jewish Li
brary, 366-5007 ext. 258.
The Book and Author Event
Committee gratefully acknowledges
the assistance of Mann Travels and
Gary and Maxine Silverstein for
making travel arrangements for Dr.
Aciman.
Two...
“Two tablets of the cov
enant”...? No, TWO JEWISH
BOOK FAIRS! That’s right, this
year’s celebration of Jewish Book
Month features not one, but TWO
separate book fairs... TWO oppor
tunities to select special Chanukah
gifts, to add to your own or your
children’s Jewish book collections ot
simply to come browse and enjoy the
wide range of titles that will be avail
able for purchase. The fairs will fea
ture books of Jewish content or by
Jewish authors that are appropriate
for all ages. The first fair will take
place on Sunday, November 19,
from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. in the
Adult Lounge of the JCC. The sec
ond fair will be on Sunday, Decem
ber 3, from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
in the same location.
Jewish Book Month began
over seventy years ago as Jewish
Book Week at a synagogue in Bos-
This beautiful book of color photography is now available at
the Speizman Jewish Library
AND I SHALL DWELL AMONG THEM:
Historic Synagogues of the World
Photographs and commentary by Neil Folberg
Historical Essay by Yom Tov Assis
AND I SHALL DWELL
AMONG THEM is a book that will
speak to many people; it spans the
world portraying architecture, art,
and history as brilliant reflections of
the Jewish Diaspora. This is a story
that has never before been thor
oughly told through photographs.
The bx>k itself is a work of art-vi
brant in its color, composition, and
the sheer beauty of its photography.
In the extraordinary variety, and the
intimacy and richness of their detail,
the photographs reveal how the
world’s synagogues form what
Folberg has called “a crown for the
Jewish people.”
Augmenting the photographs
is a fascinating and informative es
say focusing on the social and cul
tural history of the Jews by Yom Tov
Assis, a distinguished author and
scholar of Jewish culture and history
at the Hebrew University in Jerusa
lem.
A former student and col
league of the late Ansel Adams, Neil
Folberg is widely known for his
laige-and medium-format color pho
tography. In AND I SHALL DWELL
AMONG THEM: HISTORIC
SYNAGOGUES OF THE WORLD,
Folberg has photographed syna
gogues in a manner that conveys the
glory, mystery, and passion inherent
in these houses of worship, dedi
cated to the believing Jew’s relation
ship with God. Folberg currently
lives with his family in Jerusalem.
NEW ON
THE SHELF
The following is a small
sample of recent acquisitions:
ADULT FICTION
Circling Eden- A novel of Israel
by C. Magun
Beach Music by Pat Conroy
Justice by Faye Kellerman
APUITNQN FICTION
Mixed Matches by Dr. Y. Crohn
YQUNQ APUJJS
Broken Bridge by Lynne Reid
Banks
Are You Alone On Purpose by
N. Werlin
CHILDREN
Thunder Cake byPatrecia
Polacco
I Remember by K.L.
Krashopolsky
HOLOCAUST ( Young Adults)
The Shadow Children by S
Schnur
We Are Witnesses by J. Boas
Nighrfather by C. Friedman
Tell Them We Remember by
S.D. Bachrach
HOLOCAUST (Children)
The Feather Bed Journey by P.K.
Feder
We thank Halailah B'nai B’rith
Women for their help in the purchase
of childrens books. The book Mixed
Matches was purchased through
Federation Interfaith Committee
Support. All other books were pur
chased thanks to donations to the
Speizman Fund.
For more information please
call 366-5007 Ext: 258
Jewish Book Month: Who
Knows Two? I Know
ton. As other organizations started
to pick up the idea, the Jewish Book
Council, now headed by executive
director Carolyn Hessel, took over
the event and made it national. Tra
ditionally held thirty days before
Chanukiji, the purpose of Jewish
Book Month and the book fairs “is
to bring Jewish books to the
people,” according to Hessel.
Don’t miss out on this won
derful opportunity to expand your
horizons. Remember, Charlotte’s
Jewish Book Fairs feature many
titles that aren’t ordinarily available
at area bookstores. The Pirke Avot
says, “Let your house be a meeting
place for the sages.” Buying a book
at one of this year’s book fairs will
help this come true for you and your
family. Proceeds from the fairs will
benefit the Speizman Jewish Libwary.
For more information on Jewish
Book Month or the fairs, please con
tact Amalia Warshenbrot at the
Speiznuui Jewish Library, 366-5007
ext. 258.
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