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The Story of the Jewish People: Letters to Auntie Fori
A history of Judaism written in letters from historian Martin Gilbert to his acquaintance in India, who wants to learn more about her ancestry.
At her ninetieth birthday celebration in New Delhi, “Auntie Fori” revealed to her longtime acquaintance, Sir Martin Gilbert, that she was not of Indian birth but actually Hungarian—and Jewish. She did not know what this Jewish identity involved, historically or spiritually, and asked him to enlighten her.
In response, Sir Martin embarked on the series of letters that have been gathered to form this book, shaping each one as a concise, individually formed story. He presents Jewish history as the narrative expression—the timeline—of the Jewish faith, and the faith as it is informed by the history. In Sir Martin’s hands, these stories are rich in incident and achievement, starting with Adam and Eve through the Biblical and post-Biblical periods, to the long history of the Jews in the Diaspora, and ending with an unexpected visit to an outpost of Jewry in Anchorage, Alaska. Ranging through almost every country in the world—including China and India—he maintains a chronological structure, weaving in the history of other peoples and faiths, to give Auntie Fori, and us, a sense of the larger stage on which Jewish history has played out.
“Compact, breezy, and thoroughly enjoyable . . . For those, like Auntie Fori, hoping to understand the Jewish past and present, this book is a treasure.” —Booklist
At her ninetieth birthday celebration in New Delhi, “Auntie Fori” revealed to her longtime acquaintance, Sir Martin Gilbert, that she was not of Indian birth but actually Hungarian—and Jewish. She did not know what this Jewish identity involved, historically or spiritually, and asked him to enlighten her.
In response, Sir Martin embarked on the series of letters that have been gathered to form this book, shaping each one as a concise, individually formed story. He presents Jewish history as the narrative expression—the timeline—of the Jewish faith, and the faith as it is informed by the history. In Sir Martin’s hands, these stories are rich in incident and achievement, starting with Adam and Eve through the Biblical and post-Biblical periods, to the long history of the Jews in the Diaspora, and ending with an unexpected visit to an outpost of Jewry in Anchorage, Alaska. Ranging through almost every country in the world—including China and India—he maintains a chronological structure, weaving in the history of other peoples and faiths, to give Auntie Fori, and us, a sense of the larger stage on which Jewish history has played out.
“Compact, breezy, and thoroughly enjoyable . . . For those, like Auntie Fori, hoping to understand the Jewish past and present, this book is a treasure.” —Booklist
473 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 5, 2002
117 people are currently reading
306 people want to read
About the author
Martin Gilbert
249 books417 followersThe official biographer of Winston Churchill and a leading historian on the Twentieth Century, Sir Martin Gilbert was a scholar and an historian who, though his 88 books, has shown there is such a thing as “true history”
Born in London in 1936, Martin Gilbert was educated at Highgate School, and Magdalen College, Oxford, graduating with First Class Honours. He was a Research Scholar at St Anthony's College, and became a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford in 1962, and an Honorary Fellow in 1994. After working as a researcher for Randolph Churchill, Gilbert was chosen to take over the writing of the Churchill biography upon Randolph's death in 1968, writing six of the eight volumes of biography and editing twelve volumes of documents. In addition, Gilbert has written pioneering and classic works on the First and Second World Wars, the Twentieth Century, the Holocaust, and Jewish history.
Gilbert drove every aspect of his books, from finding archives to corresponding with eyewitnesses and participants that gave his work veracity and meaning, to finding and choosing illustrations, drawing maps that mention each place in the text, and compiling the indexes. He travelled widely lecturing and researching, advised political figures and filmmakers, and gave a voice and a name “to those who fought and those who fell.”
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Born in London in 1936, Martin Gilbert was educated at Highgate School, and Magdalen College, Oxford, graduating with First Class Honours. He was a Research Scholar at St Anthony's College, and became a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford in 1962, and an Honorary Fellow in 1994. After working as a researcher for Randolph Churchill, Gilbert was chosen to take over the writing of the Churchill biography upon Randolph's death in 1968, writing six of the eight volumes of biography and editing twelve volumes of documents. In addition, Gilbert has written pioneering and classic works on the First and Second World Wars, the Twentieth Century, the Holocaust, and Jewish history.
Gilbert drove every aspect of his books, from finding archives to corresponding with eyewitnesses and participants that gave his work veracity and meaning, to finding and choosing illustrations, drawing maps that mention each place in the text, and compiling the indexes. He travelled widely lecturing and researching, advised political figures and filmmakers, and gave a voice and a name “to those who fought and those who fell.”
https://twitter.com/sirmartin36
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 8, 2024
Letters to Auntie Fori documents Jewish history, faith and tradition in the form of 141 fascinating letters to a woman in India BK Nehru who reveals she is a Jew born in Hungary who would like to know something about her people. Gilbert traces Jewish history and faith from the Creation until the year 2000.
It is packed with some very interesting information written in a very interesting way. The way that Gilbert chose to present this history works very well.
Gilbert tells Aunt Fori that after Cain slew Abel and G-D, who of course knew of Abel's murder asked Cain where Abel was, Cain answered "Am I my brother's keeper?"
According to Jewish tradition the rest of the Bible explains how the answer is yes to teach us that we are all responsible for each other.
We learn that the matriarch Rachel, known to the Jews as Rachel Imenu (Rachel our mother) weeps in prayer for the Jewish people. It was giving birth to Joseph's younger brother that Rachel died. Her tomb between Jerusalem and Bethlehem is a holy site fr the Jewish people and for Christians, and has been desecrated by Palestinian mobs several times (which makes it odd that Gilbert says that is also a Muslim holy site).
In the section of King David, where Gilbert writes of the psalms David composed, we learn that Natan Scharansky, a Soviet dissident, imprisoned for many years by the Communists, found solace in a small book of psalms which he was able to keep with him, despite the hostility of his Soviet captors.
Interesting lesser known facts include the popular legend among Iraqi Jews that King Hoshea of the northern kingdom of Israel was deported by the Assyrians further east all the way to Japan where he became the first Japanese Emperor Oshe, founder of the Japanese imperial house. Dates which coincide bear out that this actually could be the case.
While Part 1 deals with the events of the Biblical era, Part 2 deals with the era of the Greek conquest of the Land of Israel up to the Zionist revival of the late 19th century.
It deals with Christian and Islamic persecution as well as the different periods in the development of Judaism including the birth of the Chassidic movement and the Haskalah ("Enlightenment") of the 18th century.
It is interesting to note how the cry of anti-Semites was once "Jews, go to Palestine" and is now "Jews, out of Palestine".
The book takes us through modern anti-Semitism, the Holocaust (of which Gilbert is one of the most prolific historians) and the rebirth of the State of Israel, and it's struggle for survival over 60 years.
We read o the many pogroms against Jews in Arab lands during and after world War II (encouraged by the Nazis) which is knowledge for those who thought the Holocaust was merely by Europeans against Ashkenazic Jews in Europe.
While reading about the War of Independence of 1948, it struck me how Israel-haters harp on about the so-called Deir Yassin massacre while airbrushing out of history events such as the Hebron massacre of Jews in 1929 and the massacre by Arabs of a convoy of Jewish nurses and doctors, known as the Hadassah convoy.
After the re-establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 Jews could once again determine their own future, for the first time in 2000 years, without having to passively depend on the hope gentile tolerance or suffer and die from persecution helplessly.
After what the Jews have been through do those who call for the end of Israel (the euphemistically called 'One State solution' ala Rwanda really think the proudest Jews in the world- the Israeli Jews- will lay themselves open to the whims of the Arabs who have showed them so much hate and tried to destroy them, and live or die on Arab whims.
The whole point of Israel is so we didn't have to lie at the feet of those who hate us, begging and praying for mercy, after so many years of persecution because we had no land of our own.
The book traces the history until 2000 when Ehud Barak was the Israeli Prime Minister and the world was hopeful for peace.
A few months after the book concludes, Arafat reacted to a generous offer by Barak of almost all of the disputed territories AND land inside pre-1967 Israel with a war of terror against the Israeli people, supplemented by a massive propaganda war to destroy Israel waged around the world.
The last part of the book is an explanation- in brief- of Jewish faith and worship.
It is packed with some very interesting information written in a very interesting way. The way that Gilbert chose to present this history works very well.
Gilbert tells Aunt Fori that after Cain slew Abel and G-D, who of course knew of Abel's murder asked Cain where Abel was, Cain answered "Am I my brother's keeper?"
According to Jewish tradition the rest of the Bible explains how the answer is yes to teach us that we are all responsible for each other.
We learn that the matriarch Rachel, known to the Jews as Rachel Imenu (Rachel our mother) weeps in prayer for the Jewish people. It was giving birth to Joseph's younger brother that Rachel died. Her tomb between Jerusalem and Bethlehem is a holy site fr the Jewish people and for Christians, and has been desecrated by Palestinian mobs several times (which makes it odd that Gilbert says that is also a Muslim holy site).
In the section of King David, where Gilbert writes of the psalms David composed, we learn that Natan Scharansky, a Soviet dissident, imprisoned for many years by the Communists, found solace in a small book of psalms which he was able to keep with him, despite the hostility of his Soviet captors.
Interesting lesser known facts include the popular legend among Iraqi Jews that King Hoshea of the northern kingdom of Israel was deported by the Assyrians further east all the way to Japan where he became the first Japanese Emperor Oshe, founder of the Japanese imperial house. Dates which coincide bear out that this actually could be the case.
While Part 1 deals with the events of the Biblical era, Part 2 deals with the era of the Greek conquest of the Land of Israel up to the Zionist revival of the late 19th century.
It deals with Christian and Islamic persecution as well as the different periods in the development of Judaism including the birth of the Chassidic movement and the Haskalah ("Enlightenment") of the 18th century.
It is interesting to note how the cry of anti-Semites was once "Jews, go to Palestine" and is now "Jews, out of Palestine".
The book takes us through modern anti-Semitism, the Holocaust (of which Gilbert is one of the most prolific historians) and the rebirth of the State of Israel, and it's struggle for survival over 60 years.
We read o the many pogroms against Jews in Arab lands during and after world War II (encouraged by the Nazis) which is knowledge for those who thought the Holocaust was merely by Europeans against Ashkenazic Jews in Europe.
While reading about the War of Independence of 1948, it struck me how Israel-haters harp on about the so-called Deir Yassin massacre while airbrushing out of history events such as the Hebron massacre of Jews in 1929 and the massacre by Arabs of a convoy of Jewish nurses and doctors, known as the Hadassah convoy.
After the re-establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 Jews could once again determine their own future, for the first time in 2000 years, without having to passively depend on the hope gentile tolerance or suffer and die from persecution helplessly.
After what the Jews have been through do those who call for the end of Israel (the euphemistically called 'One State solution' ala Rwanda really think the proudest Jews in the world- the Israeli Jews- will lay themselves open to the whims of the Arabs who have showed them so much hate and tried to destroy them, and live or die on Arab whims.
The whole point of Israel is so we didn't have to lie at the feet of those who hate us, begging and praying for mercy, after so many years of persecution because we had no land of our own.
The book traces the history until 2000 when Ehud Barak was the Israeli Prime Minister and the world was hopeful for peace.
A few months after the book concludes, Arafat reacted to a generous offer by Barak of almost all of the disputed territories AND land inside pre-1967 Israel with a war of terror against the Israeli people, supplemented by a massive propaganda war to destroy Israel waged around the world.
The last part of the book is an explanation- in brief- of Jewish faith and worship.
June 4, 2023
Famed British historian Martin Gilbert has written a insightful explanation of the history and beliefs of the Jewish people in a wonderful series of letters to his "Aunti Fori" - a 90-year-old mother of an acquaintance who he developed a deep relationship.
Aunti Fori was born Jewish in Hungary before WW II, but at the time he writes the letters, is married to an Indian diplomat (and cousin of Jewarhalal Nehru, former Prime Minister of India) and has little memory of her Jewish faith and background.
Gilbert's wonderful short letters cover thousands of years of Jewish history and foundational elements of the faith in an easy to follow and highly accessible way. It's an easy to read, quick summary of an enormous amount of information and feels particularly intimate because of the personal nature of the letters.
I've read better histories of the Jewish people and better, more detailed descriptions of the key liturgical and ritual practices of Judaism, but few have been as articulate and accessible as Gilbert's unique approach to storytelling.
Worth the read for those interested in Jewish history or theology.
Aunti Fori was born Jewish in Hungary before WW II, but at the time he writes the letters, is married to an Indian diplomat (and cousin of Jewarhalal Nehru, former Prime Minister of India) and has little memory of her Jewish faith and background.
Gilbert's wonderful short letters cover thousands of years of Jewish history and foundational elements of the faith in an easy to follow and highly accessible way. It's an easy to read, quick summary of an enormous amount of information and feels particularly intimate because of the personal nature of the letters.
I've read better histories of the Jewish people and better, more detailed descriptions of the key liturgical and ritual practices of Judaism, but few have been as articulate and accessible as Gilbert's unique approach to storytelling.
Worth the read for those interested in Jewish history or theology.
September 16, 2018
Correspondence Course
The book consists of series of letters to a 91 year old friend in India of Hungarian Jewish extraction, the wife of Indan diplomat B.K. Nehru, who had befriended Gilbert in his 1957-58 wanderyahr through India and the Levant. Over two years Gilbert skillfully weaves a narrative that that provides a layman's guide to Jewish history and culture.
It opens with an expansive but light overview of biblical history with excellent coverage of Jewish kings from the split between northern and southern kingdoms through the exiles to Assyria and Babylon until the Maccabean period where Judea leveraged Roman power over Greek. The Kingdom of Judah is reduced to a Roman client state and in spite of Jewish resistance the Temple was destroyed by Titus in 70 AD and the political framework of Jewish governance was forcibly dismantled. The Jews revolted again in 132 under Bar Kochba but were defeated the following year by the Emperor Hadrian who slaughtered 10's if not 100's of thousands of Jews (pp99) expelled them from Judea, paganizing the holy city and renamed the region Syria-Palestina. Exiled from Jerusalem the legal/religious framework continued with the emergence of a scholar/leadership (rabbis) who interpreted and formally redacted Jewish law enabling national continuity. Gilbert only gives a short reference that before this occurred Judaism had managed to spread itself throughout the rest of the empire, not mentioning that Jews made up to 10% of its population.
At times the Romans encouraged Jewish life, for example Alexander Severus (222-235) allowed the community to level is own taxes and appoint its own leader known as the "Nasi" or Prince. Justinian (527-565) allowed the building of synagogues in various places such as Jericho, Ashkelon and Hamath-Gadar. Gilbert informs us that the archeological record of this period shows extensive synagogue construction on both sides of the Jordan.
Rome itself fell in 476 but, based in Constantinople, the Roman Empire, which we now refer to as Byzantium, continued as a Christian empire until 1453. Its territories in Palestine were lost to the Muslim conquest of the 10th century. Initially the Jews welcomed the conquerors as liberators however the reign of Caliph al-Hakim (996-1021) saw widespread destruction of synagogues and churches and severe land taxes that forced non-Muslims off farmland and into urban trades.
The following 40 pages, spans the next six centuries, then dives in the Pale of Settlement, immigration to America and of course Zionism and the Holocaust. The final chapters are devoted to describing Jewish holy days and religious observances.
A wonderful summation of the Jewish experience easily accessible to young and old alike. Recommended!
The book consists of series of letters to a 91 year old friend in India of Hungarian Jewish extraction, the wife of Indan diplomat B.K. Nehru, who had befriended Gilbert in his 1957-58 wanderyahr through India and the Levant. Over two years Gilbert skillfully weaves a narrative that that provides a layman's guide to Jewish history and culture.
It opens with an expansive but light overview of biblical history with excellent coverage of Jewish kings from the split between northern and southern kingdoms through the exiles to Assyria and Babylon until the Maccabean period where Judea leveraged Roman power over Greek. The Kingdom of Judah is reduced to a Roman client state and in spite of Jewish resistance the Temple was destroyed by Titus in 70 AD and the political framework of Jewish governance was forcibly dismantled. The Jews revolted again in 132 under Bar Kochba but were defeated the following year by the Emperor Hadrian who slaughtered 10's if not 100's of thousands of Jews (pp99) expelled them from Judea, paganizing the holy city and renamed the region Syria-Palestina. Exiled from Jerusalem the legal/religious framework continued with the emergence of a scholar/leadership (rabbis) who interpreted and formally redacted Jewish law enabling national continuity. Gilbert only gives a short reference that before this occurred Judaism had managed to spread itself throughout the rest of the empire, not mentioning that Jews made up to 10% of its population.
At times the Romans encouraged Jewish life, for example Alexander Severus (222-235) allowed the community to level is own taxes and appoint its own leader known as the "Nasi" or Prince. Justinian (527-565) allowed the building of synagogues in various places such as Jericho, Ashkelon and Hamath-Gadar. Gilbert informs us that the archeological record of this period shows extensive synagogue construction on both sides of the Jordan.
Rome itself fell in 476 but, based in Constantinople, the Roman Empire, which we now refer to as Byzantium, continued as a Christian empire until 1453. Its territories in Palestine were lost to the Muslim conquest of the 10th century. Initially the Jews welcomed the conquerors as liberators however the reign of Caliph al-Hakim (996-1021) saw widespread destruction of synagogues and churches and severe land taxes that forced non-Muslims off farmland and into urban trades.
The following 40 pages, spans the next six centuries, then dives in the Pale of Settlement, immigration to America and of course Zionism and the Holocaust. The final chapters are devoted to describing Jewish holy days and religious observances.
A wonderful summation of the Jewish experience easily accessible to young and old alike. Recommended!
October 4, 2023
Through a series of 140 letters to his adopted Auntie Fori, famed historian Martin Gilbert summarizes 5,000 years of Jewish history, practice and theology. Auntie Fori herself was of Jewish-Hungarian birth, but spent most of her 91 years, at the time of these letters living in India as the wife of an Indian official. Consequently, she had forgotten her religion and relied on Gilbert to recount its basic tenets. In response, Gilbert does a commendable job in covering Judaism's biblical origins, its history and beliefs in his sort, highly digestible letters.
While I make take issue with some of his facts (Mishna is not instruction but more akin to repetition; there is no mention of Gemara among the list of Judaism's most important books), overall the book was quite informative, especially when he expounds on famous Jews.
While I make take issue with some of his facts (Mishna is not instruction but more akin to repetition; there is no mention of Gemara among the list of Judaism's most important books), overall the book was quite informative, especially when he expounds on famous Jews.
August 1, 2017
Letters to a Jewish soul
This is a wonderful history of the Jews, not at all a dry historical text. I enjoyed it tremendously, and gained more than a few insights into my culture and history.
This is a wonderful history of the Jews, not at all a dry historical text. I enjoyed it tremendously, and gained more than a few insights into my culture and history.
August 13, 2023
Uma bela e sucinta, mas fantástica da história povo hebreu.
November 7, 2009
A Jewish friend loaned me this book, and I promptly fell in love with it. It’s compiled from letters that Martin Gilbert sent to an elderly Indian citizen who’d just learned she was born Jewish in Hungary. I wanted to catch up on Bible history and culture, but I ended up learning so much more.
The letters are short, fascinating, easily readable, and together create a wonderful tapestry of Jewish history and culture, and indeed world history too. Starting with Genesis and creation, Gilbert traces the people of the Bible through fascinating retellings of familiar tales with a wealth of invaluable and fascinating context. As the Jewish people move out beyond their homeland, the letters follow, tracing paths through world history that shed light on life past and present. Jewish culture, and Jewish ties to their homeland, come vividly to life. Historical trials, spiritual study, scientific research, and the response of a people set apart to the changing world around them are all beautifully told, and all in bite-sized, letter-sized, easily digested and truly satisfying pieces.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who wants to see their faith, whatever faith, through opened eyes, and to anyone curious and willing to learn, as I was, about Jewish interpretation of the Bible I love so well.
The letters are short, fascinating, easily readable, and together create a wonderful tapestry of Jewish history and culture, and indeed world history too. Starting with Genesis and creation, Gilbert traces the people of the Bible through fascinating retellings of familiar tales with a wealth of invaluable and fascinating context. As the Jewish people move out beyond their homeland, the letters follow, tracing paths through world history that shed light on life past and present. Jewish culture, and Jewish ties to their homeland, come vividly to life. Historical trials, spiritual study, scientific research, and the response of a people set apart to the changing world around them are all beautifully told, and all in bite-sized, letter-sized, easily digested and truly satisfying pieces.
I’d recommend this book to anyone who wants to see their faith, whatever faith, through opened eyes, and to anyone curious and willing to learn, as I was, about Jewish interpretation of the Bible I love so well.
September 21, 2008
A history of the Jewish people told through a series of letters. Gilbert begins with the biblical history and continues right through to the present day. There is also extensive writing about Jewish worship, holidays and rules for life. The writing is very accessible and interesting. I learned a lot without a lot of academic baffle-gab. A very good book
March 1, 2016
Loved this book. But then I have always loved Gilbert's writing. I loved the premise of an historian teaching an elderly woman about her heritage through a series of letters written over two years. Quirky but I learnt so much
October 5, 2008
Give another perspective of Judaism history, a well documented history, yet has personal perspective.
July 1, 2012
Learning a lot!
December 8, 2020
I learned a lot. Excellent.
May 4, 2019
This is a comprehensively researched book that ambitiously covers 5000 years of Jewish history and culture in its 379 pages. Written in a series of over 100 letters to his adopted auntie, Gilbert traverses Jewish history from the beginning until the early 2000s. I found the book comes alive in fits and bursts. Being reasonably well-versed in the Bible I found the early letters on the biblical period a little cursory and less interesting than the source itself. Unfamiliar readers of the Bible may find otherwise. Many other letters were truly enlightening and engaging. If the book has a fault it is the minutiae of detail it goes into at different points eg. A catalogue of Jewish personages in a chapter on Indian or Hungarian Jews that are quickly skirted over, giving the reader no hope of remembering even a fraction of them or their achievements. On this score it is an excellent reference on many (and I mean many) unsung Jewish heroes from all over the globe and in every walk of life. The reader is certainly left with in no doubt that this suffering race has inordinately contributed to human civilization and has a rich and diverse culture worth knowing and celebrating. This is a worthwhile read.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews