Arts & Entertainment
All About Moms
Consider these new volumes for the bookshelf of the mom in your life.
Suzanne Chessler
Special to the Jewish News
I
t might seem that there are no moth-
ers like Jewish mothers. Year after
year, they fall victim to ages-old
stereotypes presented by authors, script-
writers and comedians. A group of books
available this Mother's Day adds more
discourse to the subject as authors explore
past images and current characterizations
— in both serious and comical ways.
Other books deal with the art of being a
mom — to both younger and grown chil-
dren — and its spiritual implications.
Yiddishe Mamas: The Truth About
the Jewish Mother by Marnie Winston-
Macauley (Andrews McMeel Publishing;
$14.95) resurfaces stereotyped descrip-
tions — excessively
zealous, involved,
protective, nurturing
and guilt produc-
ing — as a context
for exploring the
roles of 21st-century
Jewish mothers. With
stories, jokes and
brief biographies, the
author writes about
preservation of tradi-
tions and assimilation into larger commu-
nities as they affect Jewish moms.
As issues are discussed, plenty of actual
anecdotes are provided. Readers will find
maternal points of interest related to
Barbra Streisand, Ruth Bader Ginsburg,
Barbara Walters, Betty Freidan and many
other Jewish mothers and daughters. If
segments of the book read like a soap
opera, it could be because the author has
written for As the World Turns.
History buffs will get a timeline perspec-
tive on the Jewish mother as they read
You Never Call! You Never Write! (Oxford
University Press; $24.95) by Joyce Antler,
a professor of
Jewish history and
culture at Brandeis
University. The
book, which starts
off with a mother-
based comedy
routine by Mike
Nichols and Elaine
May, follows the
main movements
46 may
10 • 2007
of the 20th and 21st centuries and infuses
stereotypes into the chronicling of the
Jewish presence in immigration, accultur-
ation, response to World War II, suburban
society, the entertainment industry, femi-
nism and ethnic pride. "The prominence
of Jewish authors and performers within
American culture helped propel the ugly
Jewish mother to mainstream fame the
author asserts.
Comedian Judy Gold and playwright Kate
Moira Ryan spent five years doing faith-
based interviews with Jewish women
and came up with 25 Questions for a
Jewish Mother (Hyperion; $22.95). They
asked about dif-
ferences between
Jewish mothers and
non-Jewish mothers,
favorite women in
the Bible, female rab-
bis and the ultimate
Jewish mother sub-
ject
— guilt.
f rt
They report on
the answers and
include personal information as well. The
writers went on to adapt the book for the
stage. While much of the writing is comi-
cal, chapters touch on serious subjects
and explain Judaism to non-Jewish read-
ers. For instance, a question about being
kosher recounts a personal history about
how a woman wanted her children to view
their religion and outlines some kosher
practices.
o i rar*
Yet one more comical approach to the
subject of Jewish moms is offered with
The Portable Jewish Mother: Guilt,
Food, and When Are You Giving Me
Grandchildren? (Trade Paper Original;
$12.95). The author is Laurie Rozakis, a
Jewish mother and
professor of English
and humanities
at Farmingdale
State University in
Farmingdale, N.Y.
In a fast-reading,
small-sized book,
Rozakis tells about
famous moms,
develops self-tests and trivia tests and
reviews the myths — all with jokes inter-
spersed. Along the way — as she discuss-
es the moms of Elvis Presley, Mr. Rogers,
a group of fourth-graders and a colony of
bats — she concludes that all mothers are
Jewish mothers.
The Modern Jewish Mom's Guide to
Shabbat by Meredith Jacobs (Harper
Paperbacks; $16.95) presents ways that
moms can help family members con-
nect with one another and their heritage
through the Friday night meal. The
author, founder of the Web site www.
ModernJewishmom.com, explains the
Sabbath and its rituals, providing tips
for making each
celebration special,
including blessing
the children, spend-
The
Aociern Jewi,6h is 'AOM f.6
ing time doing fam-
Guide to Sliabbab
ily activities and, of
course, recipes.
But Jacobs
emphasizes that
it's the mood that
matters, not the meal itself. There is no
one, right style, she says, while encourag-
ing moms to come up with their own
innovations to harness the Shabbat spirit.
Describing a typical Shabbat in her own
home, she writes, "Somewhere along the
way I became my mother. A lot of what I
do is because of what my parents did."
Jane Isay stopped editing to begin writ-
ing, and she came up with a book that
tells her family's story and the stories of
other families. In Walking on Eggshells:
Navigating the Delicate Relationship
Between Adult Children and Parents
(Doubleday; $23.95), Isay, who has two
grown sons, reveals
one son's actions
to secure their
relationship and
tells about what she
learned during 75
interviews about
family life.
She talked to
individuals in
various age groups
and found that the
struggle among people of different genera-
tions is far reaching. "Listening to grown
children talk about their parents, I learned
how deeply they love us and how desper-
ately they want us to grow and change as
they do:' the author explains. "Only when
they trust that we respect them as adults
can they feel free to return to the family:'
Clara Sky lived with her family in a Jewish
agricultural colony in Wyoming, where
there were 31 Jewish families in the early
1900s. When a late-spring snowstorm
interfered with Passover food deliveries,
this mom baked
her own matzah.
MC. ft
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It was all part of
settling into the
West and main-
taining religious
observance. The
history of those
times is told in
Jewish Women
Pioneering the
Frontier Trail:
A History in the
American West (NYU Press; $39).
Author Jeanne Abrams, associate profes-
sor at Penrose Library at the University
of Denver, explains why Jews were able to
integrate more fully into communities in
the West than communities in the East.
She also describes why women in the West
were able to advance themselves in the
Jewish community and in the larger com-
munity. The book covers women's opportu-
nities in social welfare, progressive reform,
commerce, politics and higher education.
Margaret Wolff, who grew up in Detroit,
presents the points of view of well-known
women — and mothers — through her
book In Sweet Company: Conversations
With Extraordinary Women About
Living a Spiritual Life (Jossey-Bass;
$17.95). Rabbi Laura Geller tells about her
experiences with
spirituality and
motherhood as one
of those interviewed.
While talking
about the Jewish
traditions and her
approach to religion,
the rabbi references
very deep experienc-
es with her mother
and her own chil-
dren. She explains her outlook toward being
divorced from the father of her children
and delves into the issues of shared custody.
Readers can gain insight into different
religions as they learn about 13 others,
including Olympia Dukakis, an actress
reporting on her background, and Gail
Williamson, a spokesperson for children
with disabilities. I l