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EMTE.E.; BY SAL._ '.,' ANN BERK

"I've done a lot of books, but this one
is closest to my heart," says Berk, a free-
lance editor who has completed a range
of projects. They include The Naturalist's

Food Guide, The New York Bartender's
Guide and A Reasonable Affliction, a com-
pilation of love poems to read out loud.
It brought me back to my own roots.
I was raised in a Conservative home,
and although my husband isn't Jewish,
we are raising our son Jewish. We all
belong to a Conservative synagogue in
California, and I volunteer with Jewish
Family and Children's Services."
Berk began the book on assignment
from the publisher. It follows The Big
Little Book of Irish Wit & Wisdom. To
find material for her edition, she spent
time at a public library going through
biographies of Jewish people and
anthologies of Jewish writing. She also
recalled sayings she heard from relatives.
"One of my favorite things about
doing the book was finding amazing
diversity within our own people," says
Berk, 42. "I found wit and wisdom from
Jews as diverse as King Solomon and
Groucho Marx, Golda Meir and Harvey
Fierstein, Bob Dylan and Benny Hill.
Berk, who has camped in Michigan,
calls attention to comments made by the
late comedian Gilda Radner, who grew
up in the Detroit area: "I'd rather be a
woman than a man. Women can cry;
they can wear cute clothes; and they're
first to be rescued off sinking ships."
The following Passover reference
gives a sense of Berk's brand of humor:
"Q: What did the blind man say after
being given a piece of matzoh?
A: ho wrote this crap?"— Anonymous
Berk quotes Rabbi Nachman of
Bretslav with what she also thinks is
apropos of Passover: "It is said that
stories can help put you to sleep; I say
stories can help wake you up."
"We have to keep telling our stories,
and the seder is one of the best places
to tell them," she says.
— Suzanne Chessler

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