Evreii și cuvintele

Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization

by Amos Oz, Fania Oz-Salzberger, Ioana Petridean (trad.)

Alternând comentariul textelor sacre evreiești cu analiza fină și plină de umor a istoriei acestui popor aflat într-o eternă chestionare a propriei identități, a naturii legăturii omului cu Dumnezeu și a relației dintre oameni, volumul Evreii și cuvintele aduce la lumină, cu farmec și elocință, povești uitate din Marea Istorie. Conceput sub forma unui dialog între scriitorul Amos Oz și fiica acestuia, istoricul Fania Oz-Salzberger, eseul reliefează personaje mitice și cuvinte străvechi care ascund în ele un înțeles pierdut al lumii.

Sub forma unui eseu care are la bază un dialog între Amos Oz și fiica sa, Fania Oz-Salzberger, volumul de față pune de fapt problema identității evreiești, demontând clișee și preconcepții și sintetizând câteva dintre trăsăturile esențiale ale istoriei evreilor. Minuțios documentată, cartea nu devine greoaie datorită supleții argumentării și ideilor, condimentate cu un umor savuros: fie că este vorba despre figuri exemplare de rabini, despre o istorie a personajelor feminine din Biblie sau potențialul autor feminin al Cântării Cântărilor, ori despre importanța educației și inițierii timpurii a copiilor în tainele textelor sacre, ea păstrează aceeași formulă alertă și palpitantă până la sfârșit. Diversitatea informațiilor, paginile scrise cu o atitudine lipsită de înverșunare fac din Evreii și cuvintele o lectură esențială nu numai pentru cei interesați de istoria și înțelepciunea evreiască, ci și pentru cititorii pasionați de eseuri culturale care păstrează balanța între efervescența ideilor și exprimarea ponderată a acestora.

„O carte originală și cutremurătoare, Evreii și cuvintele reușește să adune laolaltă mai mult de cinci mii de ani de rugăciuni, cântece, povești, dispute, elogii, blesteme și glume în geamantanul unei cărți subțiri, palpitante de… ce anume? Istorie? Antropologie? Critică literară? Teologie? Toate acestea și chiar mai mult. Este o carte minunată.“ (Jonathan Safran Foer)

Genres: Jewish, Nonfiction, Judaism, Judaica, History, Religion, Language

268 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Amos Oz (Hebrew: עמוס עוז‎; born Amos Klausner) was an Israeli writer, novelist, journalist and intellectual. He was also a professor of literature at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba. He was regarded as Israel's most famous living author.

Oz's work has been published in 42 languages in 43 countries, and has received many honours and awards, among them the Legion of Honour of France, the Goethe Prize, the Prince of Asturias Award in Literature, the Heinrich Heine Prize and the Israel Prize. In 2007, a selection from the Chinese translation of A Tale of Love and Darkness was the first work of modern Hebrew literature to appear in an official Chinese textbook.

Since 1967, Oz had been a prominent advocate of a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

Reviews

[Cosimo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Le nostre parole non sono nostre

Se si ha piacere di conoscere la cultura e l'identità ebraica, questo è un libro prezioso. Padre e figlia, scrittore e storica, raccontano come il popolo del libro abbia nel corso del tempo e al di là del tempo sviluppato una testuale continuità singolare e specifica, attraverso i libri della tradizione orale e scritta: Mishnah, Talmud, Torah e Bibbia. Già, popolo del libro, definizione che si trova nel Corano, a indicare la Bibbia e a riunire cristianesimo e ebraismo; quasi a suggerire una spiritualità comune in nome di vita e uguaglianza, parola e umanità, all'origine di monoteismi e del linguaggio. Si raccontano al lettore figure di donne bibliche, personalità forti, la facoltà di nominare che è umana prima che divina, il carattere di familiarità, intimità e spirito di contraddizione che costituisce la comunità, la centralità dell'individuo nel formare la collettività, la natura di mescolanza e apertura delle storie e dei testi a tutto ciò che è altro. Baruch Spinoza, Rabbi Aqiva, Anna e Betsabea, Heinrich Heine e Giobbe appartengono all'essere umano e ogni anima è un mondo intero; la cultura condivisa ha una base paritaria ed è una risorsa comune per quella che è chiamata sorveglianza dell'anima. Per ognuno di noi è stato creato il mondo, scrivono gli autori, ribadendo la responsabilità verso gli altri e questo vale per ciascuna vita, dotata o meno di fede, perché chi ha raccontato è sicuramente esistito. Una testimonianza che ripara il mondo.

[Jeffrey (Akiva) Savett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a tremendous little book. Having just finished it, I find my heart and mind aflame with inspiration and pride and conflict. Oz and daughter would have it no other way, for this book is NOT a triumphalist manifesto of Jewish super-selection or special-ness. The authors go out of their way (sometimes to a nagging extent) to frame their discussion as simply exploring what seems particular about Jews and words, not necessarily BETTER or more heroic. In other words, this is NOT Max Dimont's Jews, God, and History, which though impressive, is a tour de force in Jewish pride and claiming.

Most enjoyably, the authors make little attempt to position themselves as scholars or authorities on the subjects upon which they hold forth. They are learned, literate, sensitive readers and writers and they want to explain chutzpah with chutzpah. They know some Talmud and quote it well; they've included some beautiful Jewish and non-Jewish poetry (I feel weird using the term "Jewish" after reading the book---you'll find out why if you pick it up) to beautiful effect. But all is in the earnest fun of separating the junk from the treasures of our intellectual inheritance; in doing so, they are doing what Jews have done and will do always---finding and making a "chidush"---new reading, new interpretation, new words, and as the authors so eloquently put it at the book's close: reauthoring the books we read by reading them.

[Ярослава]

За 2017 я дописала дисертацію і переклала три книжки (а ще купу дрібніших текстів), але друком нічого не виходило. Аж ось і перший виданий переклад у 2017 році, ура (закінчений, звісно, ще влітку 2016: примітка для друзів з-поза видавничої справи, бо раптом хтось не уявляє темпи).

"Євреї і слова" відомого ізраїльського письменника Амоса Оза і його доньки Фанії Оз-Зальцберґер - дуже зворушливий нарис про те, що твоя культурна генеалогія - це те, з якими текстами ти найзатятіше сперечаєшся. (На прикладі юдейської традиції, де ця тема унаочнюється: по-перше, бо, як пишуть автори, у євреїв "дуже мало географії, зате дуже багато історії", а по-друге, бо настанова на дискусію з авторитетами закріплена вже у етнонімі).

Коли перекладач потрапляє в пекло, йому дають перекладати тексти з юдаїки з англійської на українську. Ось, скажімо, Ози пишуть про те, що не треба бути юдеєм, аби бути євреєм. І весь текст вибудуваний саме на цьому протиставленні єврейства і юдейства. Так ось, англійською це все - одне слово, а перекладачу щоразу доводиться вибирати.
"Ми – не-віряни – також лишаємося євреями завдяки читанню. Звісно, це не лише наш вільний вибір. Багато що доклалося до того, щоб ми стали такими, як є: батьки, сіонізм, Новий час, Гітлер, звичка, збіг обставин. Проте якщо між Авраамом і нами й існує якийсь зв’язок, то складається він із написаних слів. Як і наші предки, ми закорінені в тексти, текстами прикуті до предків. Ми – атеїсти Книги".

І про дискусію про те, що первинне - юдаїзм чи євреї: "У цій книжці ми спробували пояснити: хоча багато поколінь побожних юдеїв вірили, що без Бога не буде ніяких онуків, у глибині душі вони вірили, що без онуків не буде ніякого Бога".

І все воно мило книжне, про любов до старих оповідок і давніх слів, аж раптом - отаке зворушливе прославляння життя із дуже старих текстів:

"Marranos – юдеї з Португалії та Іспанії, яких змусили прийняти християнство, – потай зберігали свічечку юдейської ідентичності за зачиненими вікнами. Мало за що варто загинути, а речей, заради яких варто пожертвувати життям своїх дітей, іще менше. Якщо у вас є хоч найменші сумніви, обирайте життя. У Повторенні Закону є класичне: «життя та смерть дав я перед вами, благословення та прокляття. І ти вибери життя, щоб жив ти та насіння твоє». А Екклезіяст, задивлений у смерть, написав найкрасивіше прославлення життя у Біблії: «світло солодке, і добре очам сонце бачити».
Всі чоловіки та жінки постали на образ і подобу Бога, і всім очам добре сонце бачити, і кожне життя священне – а отже, закон Шабату варто порушити задля порятунку кожного життя.
Друге значення: «той, хто порятував одне життя, порятував цілий світ», – іще цікавіше. Його прозоро розтлумачено у тому ж розділі Мішни. Смертний "карбує багато монет з однієї форми, тож вони всі схожі; а Цар Царів ... викарбував кожного з печаттю Адама, і жоден не схожий на іншого. Отже, кожен мусить сказати: «Для мене створено світ»."


Загалом, це дуже симпатичний текст, мені було дуже приємно з ним працювати, на сайті вид-ва можна замовити :)

[Kuszma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Négykezes esszékötet: a történész Fania Oz-Salzberger és édesapja, az író Ámosz Oz elmélkedik egy jót zsidók és szavak viszonyáról, aminek eredménye négy egybekapcsolódó, rendkívül izgalmas és mindemellett szórakoztató tanulmány. A szerzőpáros tulajdonképpen azt állítja, hogy a zsidó önazonosság kulcsa nem a vallásban, nem a történelemben, és naná, hogy nem a genetikában keresendő, hanem a szövegekkel való bensőséges kapcsolatban. Mert amíg a kultúrák zöme arra inspirálta a társadalom férfitagjait, hogy karddal hadonásszanak, addig a zsidó fiúk három éves koruktól kezdve írott szövegeket tanulmányoztak – ez pedig Ozék értelmezésében megteremtette azt a folytonosságot, ami biztosította a zsidóság fennmaradását még a diaszpórában is. Ez egy nagyon határozott kulturális nemzetkoncepció, és mit tagadjam, nekem nagyon szimpatikus is. Hisz voltaképpen irodalmi szövegekhez kapcsolja magát* – vessük össze ezt az eljárást azzal, amikor egyes nemzettársaink kulturális önazonosságukat a rovásírásban lelik meg, magyarán nem tartalmakat, hanem egy önmagában üres betűkészletet emelnek piedesztálra.

Ozék nem próbálják meg hamisan idealizálni a zsidóságot, egyfelől azért sem, mert a szövegalapú kulturális önazonosság sem feltétlenül mentes a riasztó olvasatoktól – a korai talmudi hagyomány például jellemzően hímsoviniszta, és ezt a hímsovinizmust az ultraortodoxok máig nem hámozták le róla. (Mellesleg: ez a könyv erre is kísérletet tesz.) Másfelől meg a két Oz véleménye a zsidóságon belül (ide illesszünk egy optimista „egyelőré”-t) kisebbségi vélemény, a zsidó nacionalisták történelemközpontú nemzetszemlélete, illetve a vallásalapú szemlélet még mindig uralkodó. Végtére is pont ezért született ez a könyv: hogy vitát kezdeményezzen velük. Hisz a zsidó hagyományban a vitának kulcsjelentősége van – azon kevés kultúra egyike, ami (ha mértékkel is, de) szorgalmazza, hogy apa és fiú, mester és tanítvány polemizáljon egymással, sőt: még azt is megengedi, hogy Istennel vitatkozzunk**. És ebben a vitára kész közegben telítődik meg tartalommal a tradicionalisták (maradiak) és modernek (újítók) évezredes szembenállása: míg az első csoport őrzi a hagyományt, hogy el ne tűnjön, a második csoport gondoskodik arról, hogy ez a hagyomány az idők során gazdagodjon, új elemeket fogadjon be, és így kerülje el az elsorvadást. Ők ketten kiegészítik egymást – de csak akkor, ha hajlandóak szóba állni egymással.

(Mellesleg meg most is azon mélázom, hogy a kötet állításai mennyire vonatkoztathatóak el a zsidóságtól, és mennyiben tekinthetjük őket akár egy – csak a példa kedvéért mondom – magyar kulturális nemzetkoncepció alapjának. Mert hát nyilván a mi magyar anyanyelvű szövegkészletünk azért közel sem olyan nagy, pláne ha egyesek ki akarnak zárni belőle majd mindent, amit ők idegenként érzékelnek. Nyilván amíg nem találják meg azt a nagy őseposzt, amit Árpád apánk kortársai vetettek papírra girbegurba betűkkel – mert mozog az a fránya ló –, addig magyarként a régmúltból igen kevés szövegemlékbe kapaszkodhatunk. De hát a fene egye meg, hát mitől lenne jobb történelmi alapokra helyezni az önazonosságunkat? Honfoglalás-kori leleteink száma is felettébb szűkös, így tág teret hagy a hipotéziseknek, ráadásul a XX. század arra tanít minket, hogy még gazdag történelmi bizonyítékok esetén is lehetséges ugyanazon eseményeket teljesen elütő előjellel interpretálni, attól függően, hogy az adott kormányzat jobb- vagy baloldaliként határozza meg magát, illetve – talán így pontosabb – jobb- vagy baloldaliként határozza meg a másikat. Ennél már az is jobb, ha relatíve szűkös, de napról napra gazdagabb irodalmunkra támaszkodunk – az Ómagyar Mária Siralomtól egészen Esterházy-ig.)

Szimpatikus könyv. Tudom, egy esszékötet esetében igazából nem kell szempont legyen a szimpatikusság, de hát mit csináljak. Mindenesetre a szimpatikus esszét azért lényegesen nagyobb öröm olvasni. Ráadásul vegyük azt is hozzá, hogy ezt a könyvet apa és lánya írta, ezzel egyszerre megtestesítve a mester-tanítvány viszonyt és a nemzedékek közti párbeszédet – ugyanakkor a tény, hogy nem apa-fiú, hanem apa-lánya projectről van szó, fityiszt mutat az ultraortodox férfiközpontúságnak is. Ebben azért van némi cukiságfaktor.

* Itt szögezzük le: Ozék (ateisták lévén) a Bibliára és a Talmudra sem vallási, hanem irodalmi szövegként tekintenek. Csodálatos, összetett és inspiráló, de „csak” irodalmi szövegként. A „csak”-ot főképp azért tettem idézőjelbe, mert a magam részéről egyáltalán nem érzem megalázónak, ha egy szöveget „irodalminak” tekintünk. Ami azt illeti, egy egészséges szöveg csak örülhet ennek.
** Ide kívánkozik Oz egyik gyakran emlegetett idézete:
"A legkedvesebb történetem a Talmudban két jámbor rabbiról szól, Jehoshua és Tarfon rabbiról, akik bírói minőségükben nem értenek egyet a Tóra, a szent törvény bizonyos értelmezésében. A legnemesebb zsidó hagyomány szerint vitáznak éjjel és nappal, nappal és éjjel, nem esznek, nem alusznak, csak vitáznak. Hét nap és hét éjszaka elteltével Isten megkönyörül rajtuk, mert megérti, hogy bele fognak halni a vitába, így hát közbeavatkozik. Megszólal egy hang fentről: „Jehoshua rabbinak igaza van, Tarfon rabbi téved. Most menjetek aludni.” (A „menjetek aludni” nincs a szövegben, de a kontextusban benne van.) Ám a történetnek nincs vége. A vesztes, Tarfon rabbi az égre néz: „Mindenható Isten, te adtad a Tórát az embereknek, kérlek, maradj ki a vitából.” És az égből nem sújt le a villám! Sőt Isten azt mondja, szerintem pillanatnyi döbbent csend után: „A fiaim legyőztek engem.”

[Susan Emmet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I come to Jews and Words as a lapsed Presbyterian who didn't know her Jewish heritage until age 18. My grandfather, who escaped a pogrom in SW Russia or Poland (we don't know where he was born), was adamant that we were raised as Christians. I remember neighborhood kids remarking that "he looked and acted like a Jew" with all the stereotypical stuff that statement carries on its back.

Amos Oz and his daughter, Fania Oz-Salzberger, the "writer and the historian among us," divide their conversation into four sections: Continuity, Vocal Women, Time and Timelessness and Each Person Has a Name; or, Do Jews Need Judaism. In each section, father and daughter dispute, tell jokes, relay poems, show clear focus on scholarship, and cover centuries of Biblical and Talmudic and historical rabbis, teachers, writers, thinkers and movements. What links all is what begins in Genesis: The Word.

Many peoples have been persecuted, genocidally so. Some survived; some did not. "This book is an essay. It is a nonfiction, speculative, raw, and occasionally playful attempt to say something a bit new on a topic of immense pedigree. We offer you our personal take on one core aspect of Jewish history: the relationship of Jews with words." The authors claim that words cemented Jewish people within their communities and during times of strife. The Word held fast. And the words provide daily bread and continuum. The various texts are often about law and faith, but they are all about "text, question, dispute." They are about the past and future in the present.

I love the idea that every reader and student and teacher, including God, asks many questions and is empowered to seek answers for him/herself.

The authors appear humble readers who don't lay claim to expertise. I beg to differ.

[Roksolana Sviato · Rating 5 out of 5]

Крім того, що страшенно цікава й пізнавальна лектура (особливо для тих, хто, як я, ніколи спеціально не вивчав юдаїку), додаткову зірочку ставлю за неймовірне почуття гумору.
Це просто краса - стежити за цим енциклопедичним діалогом (чи то радше дуетом) батька-письменника з дочкою-історикинею, які дотепно, критично, але з особливою ніжністю говорять про власну традицію.
В центрі книжки два головні запитання: 1. чому слова - в найширшому розумінні - такі важливі для євреїв; 2. і чим/ яким є єврейський секуляризм (бо ж автори пишуть якраз із позиції світських євреїв, котрі слушно вважають, що мають не менше за юдеїв право на всю цю спадщину.
Крім того, є ще купа цікавих аспектів: про жінок у літратурній традиції, про спадкоємність, час і позачасся, врешті про єврейський гумор.
Українською читається чудово.
Одне слово, дуже раджу.

[Bookaholic]

Citind cea mai recentă carte a lui Amos Oz tradusă în română – Evreii și cuvintele – te întrebi, vrând-nevrând, cum ar fi fost să aibă și copiii românilor drept povești ale copilăriei texte care să provoace întrebări și răspunsuri privind până și cele mai neînsemnate aspecte ale existenței (legate în discuții firesc-contradictorii), în loc de scufițe care sunt mâncate de lup dacă se abat de la drumul stabilit de alții.

Evreii și cuvintele este o carte-eseu scrisă de către Amos Oz și fiica acestuia, Fania Oz-Salzberger. Un romancier și un istoric aparținând unor generații diferite scriu o carte vie despre importanța pe care o au pentru identitatea evolutivă a evreilor (și a oricărui popor) mesajele lingvistice transmise de la o generație la alta.

Este o carte ce își propune să genereze discuții substanțiale, dincolo de posibilele răspunsuri adunate peste timp, dar și dincolo de timp și de spațiu. Dezistoricizarea contextului se impune de la sine, atâta timp cât subiectul formează importanța educației bazate pe interogație. Pe ce fel de „învățături” punem preț, ce întrebări punem, ce și cum dezbatem, cine cui pune întrebări – sunt doar câteva date ale ecuației, de necontestat fiindcă suntem pavați de cuvinte mult mai mult decât iși imaginează cei mai mulți dintre noi.

Evreii și cuvintele (citiți un fragment din carte aici) este mai ales o carte speculativ-reflexivă care evidențiază importanța pe care au avut-o în special textele scrise în continuitatea identitară a evreilor: „Continuitatea evreilor a depins dintotdeauna de cuvintele rostite și de cele scrise, de un labirint de interpretări, dezbateri și dezacorduri, aflat într-o continuă extindere și de un raport interuman unic. La sinagogă, la școală, dar mai ales acasă, a existat mereu un dialog profund între două sau chiar trei generații”.

Cei doi aleg drept unitate de măsură a istoriei evreiești cuvintele și privesc continuitatea ca fiind mai ales una textuală. Foarte important este că această privire este aruncată de doi evrei israelieni laici, care nu cred în Dumnezeu (dar pentru care laicitatea nu e rupere cu tradiția, ci doar o înțelegere diferită a lumii și a omului, una realizată dacă nu în liniște, măcar în libertate, efervescența intelectuală, întrebările fiind mai importante decât răspunsurile) și a căror identitate evreiască nu este dată de credință: „Pentru evreii seculari ca noi, Biblia ebraică reprezintă o creație umană magnifică. Exclusiv umană. O iubim și o punem sub semnul întrebării”. Biblia devine un obiect al admirației.

Atenția se îndreaptă pe „modelul evreiesc de conversație intergenerațională”, mai ales că și vechile texte ebraice sunt centrate pe două perechi cruciale: părinte-copil și profesor-elev. Mai importantă decât perechea femeie-bărbat, paradigma patrofilială ce stă la baza memoriei, a mitologiei, a ethosului și a artei colective a evreilor este mai puternică decât în alte culturi. Evreii și-au educat copiii (favorizați erau băieții care trebuiau să meargă la școală de la 3 la 13 ani), familiarizându-i cu povești, transformându-i în oameni care depind de cărți.

(continuarea cronicii: http://www.bookaholic.ro/educatia-baz...)

[Οδυσσέας Μουζίλης · Rating 5 out of 5]

... εκεί που πόσταρα εγώ Κυριακή!

https://pepperlines.blogspot.gr/2017/...

[Alina Cristea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amos Oz and his daughter, Fania Oz-Salzberger, analyze the text of the Jewish religious books from a non-religious perspective, focusing on the Jewish history, culture and identity. With a pleasant, witty and sometimes ironical style, the authors give the readers food for thought, showing that what links the Jewish people throughout time and space are spoken and written words: "Ours is not a bloodline, but a text line".

[Hillá · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written, thought provoking, and tender.

[Ярослава]

Допереклала, ура! Лишилося вичитати. Детальніше писатиму, коли переклад вийде друком. Поки просто відзначу, що я ніколи в житті не читала Біблію стільки, скільки довелося зараз, відловлюючи цитати для перекладу. Ви знаєте, якось навіть сподобалося, на дозвіллі дочитаю))) Не чекала, враховуючи що, як то кажуть, в мене й кісточки релігійної нема.

Бо ж чи не зворушливо, коли крізь шалену товщу темних і негостинних років прозирає обличчя неприємного чоловіка і нерадісного, шамотить сухими губами - марно щось робити, бо покоління приходять і йдуть, і що було, те й буде, а потім, попри весь цей розпач - “світло солодке, і добре очам сонце бачити”? Щось у тому є таке зворушливо і вразливо спільнолюдське, в цьому "добре очам сонце бачити".

А оце вже з Мішни мила деталь в дусі feel-good мотиваторів на фейсбучику, тіки з духовним ухилом: "Чоловік карбує багато монет з однієї форми, тож вони всі схожі; а Цар Царів викарбував кожного з печаттю Адама, і ніхто не схожий на іншого. Отже, кожен мусить сказати: “Задля мене створено світ”."

[David Rubin · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those Jews who are culturally attuned, but religiously detached, this book has a real chance of bringing them back into the fold. These people have a tendency to feel guilty for leaving the God of the Old Testament behind and keeping only the parts they want. Read this book to feel good about that decision!

[Barb H]

I heard an intriguing interview with Amos Oz and his daughter, Fania on NPR this week. They are secular/ non religious Jews, but have chosen to address many issues , both biblical and cultural, which are pertinent to the subject. I look forward to exploring this interesting book.

[Josh Friedlander · Rating 1 out of 5]

Potted history of Jews and Jewish texts, written by a famous father-daughter pair as a slender companion to the Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilisation currently being published by Yale UP.

As I read this book I kept wondering who it's for. It goes to great lengths to explain everything to a reader with no background in Hebrew or Jewish texts, yet it's hard to imagine one like that being interested in this parade of Jewish accomplishments, Biblical history, discussion about which Talmudic statements support liberal vs. ultra-Orthodox ideas, Yiddish humour until Woody Allen, etc.

Most of it was familiar ground for me (not all: for example the suggestion that the German word for marriage, Heirat comes from the Jewish wedding ceremony's הרי את מקודשת לי, is amazing, if surely false). Something about the tone throughout the book rubbed me the wrong way. Part of it was the constant sniping at the ultra-Orthodox, who the authors try to refute from Biblical texts (as if their cherry-picking the passages from a Bronze Age text that align with their worldview is somehow more honest...) Relatedly, there is a constant apologetics bordering on "cultural cringe", an attempt to reassure the secular or non-Jewish reader that Israelis are indeed western, liberal and secular, despite the presence among them of some backward elements. Perhaps this is because the book was written in English, but the authors seem unaware of, or unwilling to engage with, the vibrant intellectual activity crossing the secular-religious divide that exists in Israel today.

Additionally, although the authors admit that their selection of texts is subjective and arbitrary, their tone is pugnacious and dogmatic, implying an iron-clad understanding of subjects still swathed in controversy. It tempts one to look for errors, and they are not hard to find. They bizarrely claim that ḥutzpa comes from the phrase בית דין חצוף (Sanhedrin 30); it appears in Scripture (Daniel 2:15). They coin the phrase יעבור ואל ייהרג as a converse of יהרג ואל יעבור, seemingly unaware that it appears countless times in the Talmud and medieval commentaries, something one needn't have a yeshiva education to know in the age of digital search engines. I point out these failings not to belittle the writers - both learned and experts in their fields - but out of a belief in ecumenicism and intellectual humility, especially when confronting the charged, endlessly contentious world of Israeli religious politics. As the authors point out, to be Jewish is to argue over texts. Why should we stop now?

[Doina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Când am început să citesc cartea am fost tentată să-mi notez toate citatele care-mi plăceau. Au fost prez multe, n-am răzbit.
Atât de multe idei seducătoare, despre puterea cuvântului, despre importanța cititului cu voce tare și a repetării la nesfârșit a anumitor texte. Și o concluzie care mi se pare extraordinară: fiecare cititor este de fapt un creator al textului, pe care în re-crează trecându-l prin propriul filtru al experienței, emoțiilor și înțelegerii sale.
Și un citat, totuși: toate familiile funcționale depind de exprimarea în cuvinte a neînțelegerilor.

[Amir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptionally good read, a subtle combination of academic and prose, conversational, sympathetic. I like the idea of a textline to replace a bloodline, unassumingly fits in with much deeper ideas in the most eloquent way.

[Lassányi Tamás Péter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ha (Amos) Oz nem lenne ennyire kellemetlenül tudálékos és öntelt, akkor ez nemcsak baromi érdekes könyv lenne (zsidóságról, nyelvről, hagyományról, ortodoxiáról), hanem kurva jó is.

[Joanna Slow · Rating 4 out of 5]

„Żydzi i słowa” to esej autorstwa mojego ukochanego Amosa Oza i jego córki, profesor historii Fanii Oz-Salzberger. Ta dwójka świeckich Żydów analizując żydowskie teksty i żydowską historię stawia własną teorię, dlaczego naród żydowski przetrwał mimo braku tak istotnego spoiwa, jakim jest wspólnota terytorium czy państwowość.
Tezą, którą stawiają jest, że łącznikiem międzypokoleniowym, który buduje żydowską tożsamość jest słowo. Wspólne, znane wszystkim historie przekazywane z pokolenia na pokolenie, odmiennie interpretowane, reinterpretowane i kontrinterpretowane.
Autorzy zwracają uwagę długą historię powszechności edukacji (oczywiście wśród chłopców), ale i na to, że od młodych mężczyzn oczekiwano chiduszu, czyli oryginalnej myśli dotyczącej znanych wszystkim starożytnych tekstów. Żydowski chłopiec uczył się stawiania pytań, był wspierany w wyciąganiu własnych wniosków, nie było niczym złym kwestionowanie opinii największych nawet mistrzów oczywiście przy jednoczesnym zachowaniu szacunku dla tradycji.
Słowa zawarte w Biblii, Talmudzie, Misznie, jako spoiwo kultury żydowskiej to wiodący temat tego 300 stronicowego eseju, ale autorzy poruszają też temat obecności kobiet w żydowskich tekstach i ich roli w rodzinie oraz niesamowicie ciekawy temat świeżości pojęcia judaizmu w kontrze do pojęcia cywilizacji żydowskiej, która zdaniem autorów opiera się na tekście biblijnym, jako nośniku prawa, bardziej niż religii.
Warto sięgnąć, bo poza ciekawymi tezami przedstawionymi i wspartymi argumentami w sposób zupełnie nieakademicki, pełno w tym eseju interesujących anegdot i poczucia humoru.

[Pedro Gomes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Penso que dois dos momentos mais bonitos de uma pessoa é quando ela começa a ler e escrever. Não só beabá, mas ler pra entender, ler como curiosidade, como coletivo, como linguagem de interpretação do mundo - um abraço ao pequeno Pedro que lia O Gênio do Crime debaixo das cobertas. Depois, escrever como algo que eu nem sei ainda.
.

Tem duas poltronas na capa desse livro. Uma mais velha, gasta, alta. A outra é mais nova com o couro ainda firme (talvez porque quem senta ainda é muito nova; talvez porque se senta pouco). No meio, um livro. Quase como se o leitor estivesse sentado na frente dessas poltronas ouvindo Amós Óz e Fania Oz, pai e filha, contando que esse ler e escrever é pré-condição. Na verdade, exercício de uma identidade, quase sobrevivência: história. Não à toa, dizem, pai e mãe (no sentido genérico) e professor derivam da mesma raiz gramatical no hebraico: horeh e moreh. E comida e palavras são coisas sérias, seríssimas.
.

Não sei. É tudo bonito demais e me senti, de novo, aquela criança que lê livros debaixo das cobertas como se fossem um segredo, a chave pra um mundo só meu. Acho que é meio isso que fazem as palavras: brincadeiras conosco.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh man, oh man, I loved this book. Now to describe it, with a modicum of accuracy! :P

This is a book about the legacy of story and language in the Jewish tradition, as parsed out by a father and daughter team. This intergenerational approach is par for the course of Jewish learning, though traditionally it does not take part across gender lines. Oz and Oz-Salzberger are also staunch atheists, who see the holy books as flawed works written (predominately) by men—more than capable of inspiring wonder, but not belief in an all-powerful deity.

On BookTube, I’m about to take part in my second “Maybe Midrash” readathon. It was started by a couple of agnostic Christians and non-Jewish atheists, inspired by the Jewish midrashic tradition of extrapolating on holy texts. There can be a question of what use it is to care about religion when you don’t believe in Sky Daddy (as aided by the matriarchs and patriarchs, Moses, Jesus, Mohammad, any combination thereof, or completely different gods and prophets.) I’ve come to believe (pun intended?) that analytical fact matters less than the stories that have shaped history and culture.

Oz and Oz-Salzberger look at this through a more uniquely Jewish lens. Words, they posit, are our legacy. A particularly potent one for a people who have often been downtrodden and at the butt of persecution. (History was written by the victors, at least before the 20th century.) Jewish literature proliferated after the Babylonian diaspora, the Roman diaspora. There are hundreds of rabbis squabbling in the Talmud, matching gentile thinkers in quantity if not always quality. Though I imagine if any text was mined as much as Jews mine the Torah, you’d run into some narrow or pig-headed opinions.

The book, which can be an exhaustive narrative (I’m already thinking of the necessity of a reread, oy,) covers Jewish continuity in text, the instances of “vocal women” who persist in the largely patriarchal text, the idea of time in Judaism (which dang, fits nicely into a book I’d already chosen to read for Maybe Midrash next month—TIME AND DIFFERENCE IN RABBINIC JUDAISM by Sarit Kattan Gribbetz,) and the power of personal and collective names.

And here are some of my preliminary takeaways—“Judaism” is a far more divisive word than I would have thought (though perhaps it shouldn’t be too surprising to me since “Jews” and “Judaism” started out as a slur used by gentiles. “Judentum was a convenient noun when the need arose to find an equivalent to the names Christianity and Islam,” Oz and Oz-Salzberger write. “It sounded scientific and respectable. It was the highbrow image of Yiddishkeit, the east European ‘Jewishness’ of the masses, warm and zesty and colorful, on its way to becoming the object of bittersweet nostalgia amongst survivors and descendants of that world we have lost,” but “the people of Israel, in all generations before the nineteenth century, called themselves just this, ‘the people of Israel,’ bnei yisraelor am yisrael.” Israel was a man—it was the name given to our patriarch, Jacob, after he “wrestled” (though this book says “striven with,” which I don’t see as much) with Gd. We, the descendants, follow in his tribe. The Torah doesn’t have a word for “religion,” but it has a lot for “law,” which is how the Israelites often parsed their relationship with the divine. In fact, the Torah and Talmud have several examples of humans challenging Gd—and winning the argument! This sense of debate over blind allegiance does feel particular to the Jews.

Throughout the book, Oz and Oz-Salzberger pay respect to the fact that am yisrael isn’t unique in grappling with these universal themes. They also don’t use Jewish history as a bludgeon against Palestinian narratives. They walk the fine line. My one critique may be that in a story named after the argumentative trend in Jewish learning, where everyone is expected to have (at least one) unique opinion, Oz and Oz-Salzberger aren’t as distinctive from one another as they think they are. True, occasional passages might refer to “the novelist” (Amos Oz, of blessed memory, who was one of the most well-known men of Israeli letters) and “the historian” (Fania Oz-Salzberger, who teaches as the University of Haifa,) they mostly provided a united front.

Perhaps my secular mindset is relieved, since they were already covering so much literary criticism in one voice. Like I said, it could be exhausting. And my Jewish Impostor Syndrome came out in other ways…particularly with my ignorance of modern Hebrew, Judaism’s craziest success story of revamping a parochial language for widespread use. Modern Hebrew gives Jews who are even less traditionally learned than I am a glimpse into the meaning behind religious texts (largely written in Biblical Hebrew.)

That being said, Oz and Oz-Salzberger threw us an olive branch by writing the book in English. English may not be an “official” Jewish language…but it kind of is, too, given that the second largest population of modern Jews live in the United States. Judaism, or the Tribes of Israel, have a history of meeting the people where they are. This is a book about the power of (predominately mythological and even fictional) storytelling playing an outsized role in history. But to touch upon the idea of social science: evolution means survival. In that case, perhaps it’s no surprise that a tradition steeped in words and debate is still here.

[Maurizio Manco · Rating 4 out of 5]

"La nostra storia non riguarda il ruolo di Dio ma quello delle parole. Dio è una di quelle parole." (p. 61)

"Le tue idee non sono le tue idee. Sono la progenie della libreria sul tuo muro e della lingua che abiti."(p. 196)

[Sara Goldenberg]

I hate to speak ill of the dead, but ... he chose to write on a subject he admits to not believing in. Nothing more to say.

[Katja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Прочитавши кілька десятків сторінок цієї книги, я подумала собі: ніхто не вміє так цікаво говорити про біблійні тексти, як євреї, навіть якщо вони атеїсти. Звісно, це не об'єктивна істина, але все ж...

(Читала цю книгу паралельно з "Нарисом історії України" Я.Грицака, де перше, що кидається в очі, - як українцям важко вдавалося збереження національної ідентичності.) Ця книга також зачіпає тему збереження єврейської ідентичності протягом тисячоліть серед численних вигнань та існувань народу без держави. Що можу сказати за себе - цілий час прозрівала... роздуми авторів про традиції, що зберігали цю тяглість їх істрії, вразили мене до глибини душі.

Розділ про жінок - мій улюблений. Такий свіжий погляд на Сару, матір Мойсея, його сестру Міріям, повитух Шіфру і Пуа та інші численні постаті. Жінки Старого Заповіту творили історію, рятували нації, вели до бою війська, кмітливістю відстоювали свої права, вони сміливі, безстрашні, повні життя. Їх історії надихнули мене детальніше дослідити життя кожної з них. В яких обставинах чи статусах вони не знаходилися, їх життєдайної енергії і жаги вистачило, щоб не канути в забуття, а бути згаданими на сторінках найтиражованішої книги в світі. Вони мої геройки!

Книга підіймає ще багато цікавих тем. Але наприкінці хотілося б відзначити гру понять в самій назві книги "Євреї і Слова". Одне з імен Бога - Слово. І згідно юдаїзму всі ми живі, оскільки в кожного з нас Бог проговорив слово. Євреї - народ С��ова, які ожили через проговорене слово, говорять про слова, і ці слова ведуть їх вже тисячоліттями. Ось так і заінтигувала мене назва книги. Тішуся, що натрапила на неї.

[Maria Ionela Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesant subiectul! Pentru evrei cuvintele însemnau totul. Ținta lor era înțelepciunea.

[Gabriela Art · Rating 5 out of 5]

¿Y Dios? Si existe, tiene que ser judío. ... amén!

[Robert Teeter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Israeli novelist Amos Oz and his daughter, historian Fania Oz-Salzberger, argue that what unites Jews through thousands of years and many parts of the world is not blood or land, but words. (The Ozes make clear their vantage point as secular Israeli Jews.) What words? you might ask. Although Jews have spoken various languages throughout history -- some of them unique to Jews -- "almost all new Jewish literatures primarily or eventually appear either in English or in Modern Hebrew." The Ozes, both native Hebrew speakers, wrote this book in English.

They develop their argument in four more or less self-contained essays: on continuity (of texts, of rituals), on vocal women, on time and timelessness, and the relationship between Jews and Judaism (not as simple as you might think).

Some of my favorite insights among the riches of this small book:

When studying a passage, "read in growing circles around your quotation rather than pluck it out of context. Cherish discovery and surprise more than your own agenda. Acknowledge the shortcomings of texts and authors you love, and the merits of those you dislike. Look hard to see the inner logic of a paragraph, a page, and a chapter."

Hebrew is a gendered language and several passages in the Bible make a point of mentioning that joyous occasions included both male and female celebrants. "In male-dominated ancient Israel, celebrations were truly jubilant when men and women rejoiced together. The more mixed, the merrier."

"We are a nation with far more history than geography."

"Every boy at his Bar Mitzvah, every bridegroom under his matrimonial canopy is expected to say a chidush. A novelty. Not merely to repeat ancient wisdom. Not merely to ask questions and obey the learned responses. But actually to bring forth a new idea, a crisp interpretation, and unexpected link. Surrounded by gigantic bookshelves, you are still invited to make an original statement."

"Ancient Israel was a full-fledged political and legal civilization, not a mere flock of coreligionists."

"Jews around the world have not been so mutually intelligible since the fall of Judea."

" 'The King of Kings ... stamped each person with the seal of Adam, and not one of them resembles the other.' "

The Talmud was written the centuries after the conquest of Jerusalem in order to preserve Judaism. Thousands of rabbis arguing with each other are mentioned by name. "It is utterly astounding to find so many individuals, huddled in two disparate communities of a small nation on the losing side of military and political history, pursuing intellectual activity for its own blessed sake. ... From late antiquity until early modernity, most of the Jews on historical record are on record because they studied."

"There is a Jewish theology of chutzpah."

[Miranda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would give this book 2.5 stars if I could. My overall feelings upon finishing the book was a general sense of disappointment. As someone whose utmost interests (both personal and academic) involve Judaism, Jewishness, literature, literary culture, and where these things intersect, I had very high hopes for this book. Having read bits and pieces of Amos Oz's work before and seeing Jonathan Safran Foer's (whose writing I love) endorsement on the cover heightened these expectations all the more. But despite having some neat stories and facts here and there and overall constituting a very earnest academic project whose general bent I agree with and find captivating, this book mostly just annoyed me. I know that English is not the authors' first language, but even with that in mind I found the style to be pretty grating. The tone seemed very inflected or stilted, and the authors so frequently inserted their voices into the narrative, which would have been okay if they had not seemed so ingratiating and patronizing. Overly casual and conversational tone including many sentence fragments and constant repetition of some variation on the phrase "The novelist among us thinks..." almost completely ruined for me a book that otherwise had the potential to be very interesting. The book as a whole was rambling and seemed without direction or clear purpose, and I found that the authors' attempts throughout to salvage the patriarchal oppression of women throughout Jewish history (although to their credit they do clearly acknowledge that much of this history is unforgivable and cannot be glossed over) more often turned into pathetic, apologist stances that dug them in deeper. (For instance, the salient point of many of their discussions of why women are indeed represented as strong and individual turned out to be something like "She is indeed afforded respect because look how much they value her ability to raise children!") Overall, a disappointing and tame work of nonfiction with a few interesting moments for those compelled by these topics.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

According to Jewish tradition, creation begins with words, as God speaks the universe into being in the first chapter of Genesis. In their book Jews and Words, novelist and essayist Amos Oz and his daughter, historian Fania Oz-Salzburger, assert that it is words that form the true chain linking Jews through the ages and around the world – a “textline” rather than a bloodline.

In four chapters composed of loosely linked musings about continuity of tradition, women (in which the Orthodox rejection of women’s voices – literal and metaphorical - is decisively refuted), the Jewish relationship with time, and the pull of community versus individuality, the storyteller and the scholar range far and wide through Jewish history and culture. They take the reader from the Bible through the shtetl to modern Israeli life, with glimpses along the way of God studying Talmud (commentary on the laws of the red heifer, if you must know), a Jewish grandmother kvetching at the Almighty on the beach, and Eliezer ben-Yehuda, father of modern Hebrew, speaking it to his children. Throughout, they share their intoxication with language and their Jewish heritage as well as their love and respect for one another, even when they disagree, as father and daughter occasionally must.

[Yaneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um livro extraordinário!
Muito mais do que a história milenar da nação judaica e do seu imensurável legado cultural, a importância da palavra como meio transmissor desse tesouro.
Um livro repleto de ensinamentos, de argumentos e muito, muito humor, tal como a própria idiossincrasia judaica e do testemunho da sua passagem pelo mundo ao longo do tempo... por entre lágrimas e risos. Tanto em tão poucas páginas!
"Todo homem tem um nome
que Deus lhe deu e que lhe deram seu pai e sua mãe
Todo homem tem um nome
que lhe deu sua altura e a forma do seu sorriso e sua pele
Todo homem tem um nome
que lhe deram as montanhas
que lhe deram seus muros
Todo homem tem um nome
que lhe deram os signos do zodíaco
e que lhe deram seus vizinhos
Todo homem tem um nome
que lhe deram seus pecados e lhe dão seus desejos
Todo homem tem um nome
que lhe deram seus inimigos
e lhe deu seu amor
Todo homem tem um nome
que lhe deram suas festas
e lhe deu sua profissão
Todo homem tem um nome
que lhe deram as estações do ano
e lhe deu sua cegueira
Todo homem tem um nome
que lhe deu o mar e que lhe deu a morte."
Zelda Mishkovski

[Mircea Poeana · Rating 5 out of 5]

O bijuterie de eseu despre substanta si valoarea cuvantului.
Cuvantul primordial, cuvantul zamislitor de civilizatie si cultura, cuvantul salvator, cuvantul esential.
Prezenta cuvantului si metafora absentei lui.
De la Torah pana la Haskalah (Iluminismul evreilor), de la Lumina Calauzitoare pana la Infernul Shoah (Holocaust).
O pledoarie pentru invatatura, de mare sensibilitate, care iti incanta sufletul si mintea.
"Evreii sunt precum fotografiile expuse in vitrina unui magazin,
Cu totii laolalta, de marimi diferite, vii si morti,
Miri si mirese, baieti de bar mitzva si bebelusi
Apoi sunt portretele salvate din vechi fotografii ingalbenite,
Iar uneori oamenii vin si sparg vitrina
Si ard pozele. Iar ei incep din nou
Sa faca fotografii si sa le developeze
Si le expun din nou, strangand din dinti si zambind." (Yehuda Amichai)