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There's something for everyone in the
world of Judaica publishing.

JUDITH BOLTON-FASMAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

his holiday season, there
is a varied selection of
new books for Chanukah
gift-giving and year-
round enjoyment.

Best Coffee-
Table Book

Jews/America/A Rep-
resentation, photo-
graphed by Frederic
Brenner. Introduced by Simon Schama.
Abrams, New York, N.Y., $75.

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We Jews are a diverse people and never
has that been so evident as in America.
Frederic Brenner has been photographing
Jews in the Diaspora for 17 years, a quest
that has taken him to 37 countries.
Jews /America /A Representation is the
photographic record of his American so-
journ. Mr. Brenner's project will culmi-
nate in 1999 with a two-volume book of
Jews from around the world.
In the book's introductory essay,
philosopher and historian Simon Schama
asserts that the 801 photographs assem-
bled for this volume grip the viewer with
"the shock of the paradox."
One example, a photograph taken at
a seder in the Bedford Correctional Fa-
cility, in New York, contrasts the bibli-

Judith Bolton Fasman is books editor at our
sister publication, The Baltimore Jewish
Times.

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cal exodus with the imprisonment of the
God by smashing all of his idols.
six women pictured. An exit sign looms in
Mr. Brenner, in turn, has shattered
the background. It may have been more stereotypes in this amazing catalog of the
representative to photograph some of the American Jewish experience.
60,000 other Jews celebrating Passover
in Westchester, County, N.Y., but the aes-
thetics would have been lost.
Brenner's juxtaposition of Jewish iden-
tity against uniquely American backdrops The Art of Hanukkah by Nancy M.
raises the provocative question: What Berman. Hugh Lauter Levin, Southport,
makes someone a Jew? Is it genetics, en- Conn., $35.
This elegant volume tells the Chanukah
vironment or actual practice? These pho-
story by showcasing 48 objects of art. Ms.
tographs suggest all those possibilities.
The photographs also
point to a uniquely Amer-
ican Jewish paradox. It is
dangerous to be a Jew in
The Folk Art of Malcah Zeldis
the relative safety of
America. The temptation
to assimilate completely is
overwhelming. The pho-
tograph of a Staten Island
family posing between
their Christmas tree and
electronic menorah makes
that dilemma devastat-
ingly clear.
In a recently published
interview, Mr. Brenner as-
serts that "we [Jews] are
the ultimate idol break-
ers." The reference is to
the traditional Jewish dis-
like of photographic por-
traits — an aversion that
reaches back to biblical
times when Abraham
pledged his devotion to

Coffee Table Continued

Berman's short essays are instructive and
insightful.

Jewish Days: A Book of Jewish Life
and Culture Around the Year by
Francine Klagsbrun. Illustrated by Mark
Podwal. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New
York, N.Y., $30.

This is a fresh and intelligent comple-
ment to the Jewish calendar. Ms. Klags-
brun sprinkles the Jewish year with the
Hebrew dates of major and minor holi-
days as well as commemorative dates such
as the death of Rachel and Mai-
monides. She also provides sig-
nificant commentaries on
customs, rituals and laws. Mr.
Podwal's knowledge of Judaism
is reflected in his smart pen and
ink drawings as well as his soft
watercolors.

Mom ents in Jewish Life

The Chronicles of the Jew-
ish People by Raymond P.
Scheindlin. Smithmark Pub-
lishers, New York, N.Y., $24.98.

Dr. Scheindlin, a professor of
Medieval Hebrew literature at
the Jewish Theological Semi-
nary, in New York, offers a com-
prehensive overview of Jewish
history. The book is generous-
ly illustrated with photographs,
drawings and paintings.

Jerusalem: In the Shadow
of Heaven, edited by David Co-
hen and Lee Lieberman. Collins