Tevye's Grandchildren: Rediscovering A Jewish Identity

Rating:
Summary: This book resonated with me
Review: I have just finished reading Eleanor Mallet's new book "Tevye's Grandchildren". In it, Mallet explores her Jewish identity.
The impetus to do this first came about when she realized that her sons, third generation American Jews, were more comfortable with their Jewish identity than she was herself. Mallet became aware that she grew up feeling it was OK to feel Jewish but not "too Jewish". She embarked on a journey of discovery of her own place in the Jewish world, first by exploring her parent's feelings about their Jewish identity. Her narrative has an introspective flavor that makes you feel she is speaking to you personally.

She made a trip to Israel, living there for 8 weeks. She wanted to feel what it was like to be a Jew in the Jewish homeland, among a strong Jewish presence. She wanted to immerse herself in every aspect of Israeli life, culture and language. She attended a Hebrew ulpan- an intensive Hebrew class- every day. She visited the shuk- the market place, the Diaspora Museum and Yad Vashem- the holocaust museum. She writes movingly about the development of the State of Israel, and provides many poignant portraits of people she met there.

She later traveled to Germany of all places, to explore what Jewish life is like there. This struck me as a brave thing to do, since I have not had the courage to do this myself. Germany always seemed like an inherently evil place to me, and certainly no place for a Jew. This was eye-opening for me. Germany has encouraged Jewish emigration and has become a popular place for Jewish people from the former Soviet Union to live. Mallet explored how Germans view the Nazi period of their history. I found this especially fascinating.

The historical narrative is informative and very interesting, and of course, helps to provide context for how feelings relating to one's Jewishness have changed over the years. The amount of research reflected in this book is impressive.

Eleanor Mallet gives an honest and intimate portrait of herself, her own feelings and I found this book really resonated with feelings I have had myself. I heartily recommend this book. It is a good and satisfying read.