People have dreams which animate their lives. But are people themselves dreams perhaps? Shakespeare said so in "The Tempest": "we are the stuff dreams are made on." Follow one family of dreamers, enthusiasts of social justice, Zionism, music and literature, who escape from pogrom-ravaged Russia to the challenges of pre-World War I Turkish Palestine, and then on to the safety and prosperity of America. Growing up in America, Leah Isaacson tries to balance her American identity with loyalty to the Zionism of her father, but her marriage to the anti-Zionist editor Pinya creates problems. The nightmare of the Hitler years changes Pinya, reconciling him to the Zionist dream. He creates a newspaper to support renascent Israel. The family joins in this effort, linking their lives to the rebirth of a dream.
Kenneth, half Jewish, grows up not knowing who he really is. Reporting on the Eichmann trial in Jerusalem, he learns about the Nazi Holocaust and begins to find his identity as a Jew. Finding himself also means freeing himself from a failed marriage. On the eve of the Six Days War he meets Maggie, another journalist, in the Greek Isles and she too has an identity problem. She follows him to Israel to cover the war with him and they fall in love in Israel as the war begins. Against the background of struggling Arab and Israeli armies, they work out who they are and what their future will be.
Please visit the author's website at Abrahamsknife.com Christians may take the idea of deicide for granted but to Jews it is a bizarre notion, especially when it is turned against them, becoming the accusation of "You killed Christ" and setting in motion the antisemitic acts of the last two thousand years of history. Over and over again, Jews ask, "Why do they hate us?" and protest their innocence and their standing as good citizens of their societies. With a background as a student of literature and a journalist, Judith Civan set out to explain first for her own understanding and then for others who are similarly bewildered, the origin and meaning of the deicide charge, the least rational and most powerful of the various ingredients of antisemitism. Where did this idea originate and how could it have played such an important role in Western culture and history over some two millenia? Drawing upon biblical scholarship and the work of historians of subsequent periods, Civan has attempted a literary analysis of the figures of Abraham, Isaac, Jesus, Judas, and Shylock which might make some sense of this persistent and pernicious myth. Though weakened by the reforms of Vatican II, the deicide myth has not been disposed of and it is still vitally important to try to understand it. It is important not only for the safety of Jews who only recently suffered the devastation of the Holocaust, but also for the health and moral integrity of Western culture. Civan concludes that the accusation of deicide is so virulent because it is not so much about the killing of God as it is about the sacrifice of children, about parental love, ambivalence and guilt, and the human sense of vulnerability.
Leaving Egypt takes place during the nineteen fifties in Cambridge, Boston and New York City, but behind its events lies the Bible's story of the ancient enslavement of the Jews in Egypt and their exodus to freedom. More than fifteen years since the end of World War II and the revelations of the horrors of the death camps and the crematoria, no one wants to think about the Holocaust. Bruce, a Jewish student at Harvard, decides that being a Jew has no meaning for him. He falls in love with Anne, a Radcliffe girl who seems to be almost his mirror image. But she looks critically at him, sees his evasions of reality and rejects the life he has chosen. She leaves him behind as she begins a voyage of self-discovery and learning. On the way she meets Daniel, a medical student connected to his Jewish identity. When she descends into the depths of Widener Library where the history of the Holocaust lies hidden in dusty, neglected books, one poignant photograph dramatically and shockingly connects her sorrow for the lost Jews to her love for Daniel.
Leaving Egypt takes place during the nineteen fifties in Cambridge, Boston and New York City, but behind its events lies the Bible's story of the ancient enslavement of the Jews in Egypt and their exodus to freedom. More than fifteen years since the end of World War II and the revelations of the horrors of the death camps and the crematoria, no one wants to think about the Holocaust. Bruce, a Jewish student at Harvard, decides that being a Jew has no meaning for him. He falls in love with Anne, a Radcliffe girl who seems to be almost his mirror image. But she looks critically at him, sees his evasions of reality and rejects the life he has chosen. She leaves him behind as she begins a voyage of self-discovery and learning. On the way she meets Daniel, a medical student connected to his Jewish identity. When she descends into the depths of Widener Library where the history of the Holocaust lies hidden in dusty, neglected books, one poignant photograph dramatically and shockingly connects her sorrow for the lost Jews to her love for Daniel.
Please visit the author's website at Abrahamsknife.com Christians may take the idea of deicide for granted but to Jews it is a bizarre notion, especially when it is turned against them, becoming the accusation of "You killed Christ" and setting in motion the antisemitic acts of the last two thousand years of history. Over and over again, Jews ask, "Why do they hate us?" and protest their innocence and their standing as good citizens of their societies. With a background as a student of literature and a journalist, Judith Civan set out to explain first for her own understanding and then for others who are similarly bewildered, the origin and meaning of the deicide charge, the least rational and most powerful of the various ingredients of antisemitism. Where did this idea originate and how could it have played such an important role in Western culture and history over some two millenia? Drawing upon biblical scholarship and the work of historians of subsequent periods, Civan has attempted a literary analysis of the figures of Abraham, Isaac, Jesus, Judas, and Shylock which might make some sense of this persistent and pernicious myth. Though weakened by the reforms of Vatican II, the deicide myth has not been disposed of and it is still vitally important to try to understand it. It is important not only for the safety of Jews who only recently suffered the devastation of the Holocaust, but also for the health and moral integrity of Western culture. Civan concludes that the accusation of deicide is so virulent because it is not so much about the killing of God as it is about the sacrifice of children, about parental love, ambivalence and guilt, and the human sense of vulnerability.
People have dreams which animate their lives. But are people themselves dreams perhaps? Shakespeare said so in "The Tempest": "we are the stuff dreams are made on." Follow one family of dreamers, enthusiasts of social justice, Zionism, music and literature, who escape from pogrom-ravaged Russia to the challenges of pre-World War I Turkish Palestine, and then on to the safety and prosperity of America. Growing up in America, Leah Isaacson tries to balance her American identity with loyalty to the Zionism of her father, but her marriage to the anti-Zionist editor Pinya creates problems. The nightmare of the Hitler years changes Pinya, reconciling him to the Zionist dream. He creates a newspaper to support renascent Israel. The family joins in this effort, linking their lives to the rebirth of a dream.
Kenneth, half Jewish, grows up not knowing who he really is. Reporting on the Eichmann trial in Jerusalem, he learns about the Nazi Holocaust and begins to find his identity as a Jew. Finding himself also means freeing himself from a failed marriage. On the eve of the Six Days War he meets Maggie, another journalist, in the Greek Isles and she too has an identity problem. She follows him to Israel to cover the war with him and they fall in love in Israel as the war begins. Against the background of struggling Arab and Israeli armies, they work out who they are and what their future will be.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.