Thursday, January 20, 2005

And There Was Light by Max Freedland

From the first time Max attends Jewish Sabbath eve services, he absorbs little by little the essence of the noble heritage denied by his atheistic parents. Employed by a Jewish-owned merchandising firm, Max is victim of reverse discrimination. He realizes that he lives in two worlds: his gentile fishing buddies, and Jewish social friends acquired from his marriage to Ray.

From the simple folk-wisdoms of Mama Silberman, his two children’s attending religious schools, and numerous other exposures to the birthright he was denied, Max comes to realize he has 'wandered though a desert of ethnic wilderness for forty years;’ that he belongs to a community of noble, scholarly, brave and priestly people.

After several chapters of droll and humorous anecdotes, Max’s saga concludes with a profound spiritual experience in a Jerusalem beer tavern.