I know many of you have seen my piece from the Times, about Tree of Life, that ran last weekend, and apparently is running in the print edition this weekend. But if you didn’t, here it is. And here is an excerpt:
The murder of any human being is infinitely terrible, but the murder of a Jew in synagogue has a special quality: It makes the tiny minority of Jews who show up for one another at worship — who make the minyan — even smaller.
That loss has unique ramifications, which may not be apparent to the nonobservant. We cannot say prayers for the dead without 10 present. We cannot get married. We cannot read from a Torah scroll. We can’t do Judaism without 10 Jews. And while at bar mitzvahs and weddings those 10 are easily gathered, it is the daily and weekly ritual that is essential to both the griever and the celebrant alike.
Please go read the whole thing (it’s short). And if it moved you, and it’s the kind of writing you want to see more of, maybe subscribe to this newsletter, to support my work in general?
One further matter. In the piece, I quote from David Bezmozgis’s short story “Minyan.” This story, by a writer who truly is big in Canada, and should be bigger here, is one of my favorite stories ever. It’s worth buying the collection Natasha to read this story, as well as the others in the collection.
And a final matter. Want to know what I’ve been reading and watching? Okay, twist my arm. I was enjoying the new Andre Dubus III novel, Such Kindness, until I misplaced it; now I will be moving on to Money, by Martin Amis, the next book in my two-man book club with my chum Boone. (BTW, on Dubus: his dad was terrific, dare I say better? Andre Dubus, not to be confused with Andre Dubus III. Okay, let me put it this way: I think Dubus père wrote timeless short stories, Dubus fils writes good novels, but Dubus fils also wrote Townie, possibly the greatest memoir ever—in part about his abandonment by Dubus père. Let their legacies duke it out.) On the telly, Mrs. Oppenheimer and I loved Daisy Jones (loved the novel, too), are midway through the new season of Never Have I Ever, and are lukewarm on Platonic, which should be much better, as a Stoller/Delbanco production starring Seth Rogen and the incomparable Rose Byrne. At least the trailer is good:
A good Sabbath, to those who observe, and to those who don’t, watch some TV!