Sermon by Rabbi Denise L. Eger, November 25, 2005

Shabbat Shalom.

Each November the Jewish community celebrates Jewish book month. With the Jewish holy days behind us, and the entire Jewish month of Cheshvan devoid of any holiday save for Shabbat—the Jews—known as the People of the Book—celebrate our unique literature. Jewish Book Month established in 1948 by the Jewish Book Council was to "to promote the reading, writing and publishing of quality English language books of Jewish content in North America."

Since the late 40’s there has been a profusion of Jewish literature written and published from novels to short stories, from biographies to histories and every type of Jewish book imaginable in English. Jewish authors have made their mark not only within the Jewish community but in the larger book world as well. Jewish American Fiction a subset of these is read beyond the Jewish community –providing a window into our communal traditions, neuroses, and struggles.
Perhaps one of the greatest Jewish authors of our time is none other than Phillip Roth. He has certainly provided a large viewing window to the world about the post world war II Jewish experience. From his essays, short stories and novellas like Goodbye Columbus and Eli the Fanatic to his novels Portnoy’s Complaint and Zuckerman Unbound and Operation Shylock, Roth has brought to life the complex and wonderful Jewish experience and the ways Jewish identity weaves into our unique American perspective.
Most recently in his latest novel, The Plot Against America, Roth imagines an alternate universe. A technique used often in science fiction but rarely in Jewish literature, Roth imagines America and the effect on his family and all Jews when Roosevelt is defeated for a third term as President by none other than Nazi sympathizer Charles A. Lindbergh, the great aviator. An isolationist who builds a special relationship and understanding with Adolph Hitler, President Lindbergh’s America as imagined by Roth, devolves into a frightening kind of Anti-Semitic place with relocations not unlike what the Japanese-Americans actually went through here in California and elsewhere.
Lindbergh in real life was a Nazi sympathizer that was decorated by them. He really did give a speech in 1941 in Des Moines, Iowa that not only accused the Jewish community of being war agitators but also he said, “ No person with a sense of the dignity of mankind can condone the persecution of the Jewish race in Germany. But no person of honesty and vision can look on their pro-war policy here today without seeing the dangers involved in such a policy, both for us and for them. Instead of agitating for war, the Jewish groups in this country should be opposing it in every possible way for they will be among the first to feel its consequences…Their greatest danger to this country lies in their large ownership and influence in our motion pictures, our press, our radio and government.”
Roth takes well-known even famous people of the day and weaves them into his book including himself. A young nine year old Philip Roth is actually the main character and much of the book unfolds through his eyes! Others that should be familiar names to the reader include—Walter Winchell the famous reporter, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Anti-Semite Henry Ford, Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, baseball player Hank Greenberg, Rabbi Joachim Prinz of Temple B’nai Abraham in Newark, New Jersey, and Von Ribbentrop, Hitler’s Chief Foreign Policy advisor and Minister of Foreign Affairs. The reader is indebted to Roth’s detailed list at the end of the book naming and explaining the historical figures mentioned in his novel so that upon re-entry into the actual world—we readers can keep our stories and the people in the accurate.
The premise of the story following the election of Lindbergh and his cooperation with Hitler in keeping America out of the war—the young Philip Roth recounts the cataclysmic shift in America’s policy’s as it unfolds upon his family. The tale revolves around his father Herman, mother Bess, older brother Sandy, Aunt Evelyn and the Jews of Newark, New Jersey as they deal with increasing American Anti-Semitism and violence against the Jews.
As frightening as is the premise of the book, I have to say it was one of the best books I read this year. And not without a few laughs! Classic Roth. The patter of his dialogue between characters, the inflection in the their voices, and the unique literary voice Roth gives to his nine year old self—filled with innocence and worldly-ness at the same time is I think a unique trademark of Roth’s writing. I enjoyed this book so much that even a riveted as I was reading it, I took out a pen and underlined and circled and made notes on various passages because of the brilliant insights of the author and because Roth has a way with words that goes beyond what is printed on the page. And because many of the passages were just so perfectly—Philip Roth! Let me read an exchange between the young character Philip and his older brother Sandy. Sandy had previously been part of “re-education” program for young Jewish boys—sent to live in the summer on a farm in Kentucky with non-Jews so as to break the Jewish communal hold. This re-education program was administrated by none other than his mother’s sister—his aunt Evelyn who is the mistress and eventually the wife of the director of the program—Rabbi Bengelsdorf and apologist for President Lindbergh. It begins with young Philip asking his brother Sandy:
“ ‘What’s paranoid’?” I asked him.
“Somebody afraid of his shadow. Somebody who thinks the whole world’s against him. Somebody who thinks Kentucky is in Germany and that the president of the United States is a storm trooper. These people,” he said, mimicking our captious aunt whenever she would superciliously distinguish herself from the Jewish rabble. “You offer to pay their moving expenses, you offer to throw open the gates for their children… Know what paranoid is?” Sandy said. “Paranoid is nuts. The two of them are bats—they’re crazy. And you know what’s made them crazy?”
The answer was Lindbergh, but I didn’t dare say it to him.
“What?” I asked.
Living like a bunch of greenhorns in a goddamn ghetto. You know what Aunt Evelyn says Rabbi Benglesdorf calls it?”
“Calls what?”
“The way these people live. He calls it “Keeping faith with the certainty of Jewish travail.’”
“And what’s that supposed to mean? I don’t understand. Translate please. What’s ‘travail’?”
“Travail? Travail is what you Jews call tzuris.” (p, 227)
In this small passage—the older brother Sandy distances himself from his family. He is aligned with Aunt Evelyn and the pompous Rabbi Bengelsdorf. The Jews to Sandy—are These people—rather than his people. The young Philip understands that President Lindbergh and their policies haunt his own parents—even while his older brother Sandy tries to embrace them while throwing off the remnants of his Jewishness. And yet, Sandy can’t really escape the ghetto—because as translator—he knows travail is just tzuris dressed up in fancy language.
The truths of Roth in this book are that his alternate universe is entirely believable. And it is easy to imagine that forces beyond our control could change America in a snap. One only has to read the headlines in our own LA Times to see that our country is a far different place than even seven years ago. Now we are a country at war. More Americans than ever have no health coverage over 45 million. To be poor in America is a frightening proposition and the truth is that more and more of us slip down the middle class ladder than rise above it. Home ownership for the vast majority is elusive and global competition often keeps jobs from our young people. The promise of America doesn’t seem as shiny today as it once was. The world as we know it cries out for healing and change.
As we celebrate this Thanksgiving weekend we pause to create our own alternative universes—through our prayers we articulate a vision of a world that should be a world of equality, justice and shalom—peace. The alternative universe as imagined in our prayers—paints a picture of promise for all peoples regardless of their race or religion, or nation. The alternative universe of our prayers helps to inspire us to create this very vision in our world today.
May the words of our tradition help us to bring about this alternative universe of hope and justice and healing as our reality.