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Spiewak P., Book of Books: Midrashim
Znak in Kraków has published an interesting collection of texts by Paweł ¦piewak, a well-known sociologist, publicist, lecturer and polemicist. A key to understanding this book seems to be its title, which is both a reference to his personal experience as well as to the tradition of rabbinical literature.
The personal key is an allusion to the "Book of Books" - to the title of the introduction to reading the Old Testament that was written by the author's own mother, Anna Kamieńska, a title which in its formulation alludes to the "Song of Songs". Thus this personal link does not introduce readers into private details of the author's life, but shows and emphasizes that which is most intimate and important – the place of the Bible's Word in the life of a person and of a family. The author probably intentionally left out any biographical note, and did not even mention his other publications. This gesture turns readers' attention to the most important message that he wanted to share with them: that he is the son of Anna Kamieńska, that he is undertaking a dialogue with her, and with her book.
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How ¦piewak does this is also gives food for thought: he does not polemicize with her, nor does he cite her book or repeat its contents, but the context of his mother's work is in the background, internalized and present. It is present in his reading of the Scriptures, and for this reason one should see this publication not as a reckoning with Kamieńska, but as a continuation of her work, without any cheap imitation. It is present, although the author notes in opening, "I spoke with my mother for hours about the Bible. This conversation is still within me, and when I write, my first impulse is to call her, meet and chat for a while. Her absence is very painful for me. It is from her that I learned the most."
The second key to this book is the word "midrashim", which refers the readers directly to rabbinical literature, to commentaries, developments of Biblical stories, as well as explanations and homilies, which were created primarily in ancient times and the early Middle Ages. The wealth of variety in midrashim is not easy to classify, which is apparent if one just looks at the few anthologies and works regarding midrashim that have been published in Polish, including those by Luis Ginzberg, Legendy żydowskie (1997), Micha Josef ben Gorion, Żydowskie legendy biblijne (1996), Robert Graves and Raphale Patai, Mity hebrajskie (1993), Michał Friedman, Ze skarbnicy midraszy (1995) and Israel Cwi Kanner, Opowie¶ci Żydowskie (1997). In addition, there are also commentaries on specific verses in the new translation of Genesis and Exodus in the Tora Pardes Lauder (2001, 2003).
¦piewak cites various midrashim, expanding on different themes in the Book of Genesis, referring to numerous readings, and less frequently to private reflections. He demonstrates his method of reading the Bible: care is given to detail, respect for tradition, and at the same time it is an unfettered imagination that provides the basis for capturing the essence of the midrashim - which is to say searching and an attempt to understand the meaning of the Word.
For readers unfamiliar with this type of literature, at the end of the book there is a useful glossary of names (prominent rabbis who were the creators of the midrashim) and a glossary of terms and works. (asw)
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