Joseph H Zernik
DN: cn=Joseph H
Zernik, o, ou,
email=jz12345@earth
link.net, c=US
Location: La Verne,
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ergence"ol a Genre
Reviewing Arab American Writers
by Judith Gabriel
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into Translation
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BY ISSA J. BOULLATA
HEBRON STORIES ! Mansur's love for his mare Hamamah, which he does
By Yitzhaq Shami not want to sell but is stolen from him by trickery, is the
Introduction by Arnold I. Band. setting of the first story located in Arabia and entitled
Edited by Moshe Lazar and Joseph Zernik. "Hamamah: A Tale of the Arabian Desert." The second
Lancaster, CA: Labyrinthos, 2000. xiv + 227 pp. story, "Jum'ah the Simpleton," describes the dignity and
good services of tlie poor shepherd Jum'ah. He is
Yitzhaq Shami (1888-1949) was a Jewish writer born alienated from his Arab village in the Negev because,
in Hebron, where he grew up among Palestinian Arabs in although admittedly simpleton, he refuses to accept
a small Sephardic community. As a child reared in a ridicule. In "Father and Daughters," the third story, we
religiously traditional family, he spoke Ladino with his see the indignation of Hakham Zvi Cohen of Damascus
mother and Arabic with his father. In 1905-1907, he who returns home after seven years' absence, laden with
abandoned ancestral Sephardic traditions and studied at gifts, only to be shocked by his scornful daughters who
the Ezra school in Jerusalem, where he first wore Western have become cabaret entertainers. The fourth story,
clothes, was exposed to European literature, and aligned "Flight," traces the experience of Hakham Bekhor Kimhi
himself with Ashkenazic Jews and Zionists. Trained as a in a Jewish home for the aged in Jerusalem. The filth and
teacher, he specialized in Arabic language, literature, and lack of dignity force him to flee. "The Barren Wife"
history; he taught at schools in Damascus, Hebron, describes the humiliation of a barren Jewish wife, Flor,
Tiberias, Haifa, and elsewhere. He wrote poems and short whose husband takes a second, younger wife to produce
stories in Hebrew as well as articles on subjects like offspring. "Ransom" is the final short story and portrays
modern Arabic literature and Jews in Damascus. the fearful novice Hakham Mercado Bekhar in Jerusalem.
While his poetry and articles have not been He botches his first circumcision on a baby terribly and
collected, his Hebrew stories are now presented for the offers the poor Yemenite Jewish family money to call a
first time in English translation in "The Henry 1. Leir doctor, but the baby's father takes the money to buy
Library of Sephardica: Texts and Studies," under general winter clothes for his naked children.
...uz.:.lM'.Iilif&.
editor Moshe Lazar. This series is a continuing effort to Author Yilzhaq Snami Though none of these stories offers a historical time
redress the balance in the canon of standard authors of frame, all internal clues point to the Ottoman period
modern Hebrew literature and make itmore representative, before the First World War. There are horse-drawn
for until the 1970s, it was dominated by Ashkenazic carriages instead of motorcars, no electric lights at night
males. but dim oil lamps, and the pace of life is slow. These
"Hebron Stories" contains six short stories (pp. 3 elements hold true for Shami' s novel "The Vengeance of
113) and a short novel of 10 chapters (pp. 117-227). the Fathers" except that in this case he provided a note
Divided equally between these two genres, the title explaining that "in the early 1900s, an incident like this
"Hebron Stories" was apparently chosen to draw actually occurred," although he says he wrote it as a
attention to the author's origins and to his pacific novel some 25 years later.
writing. Although the fictional setting is not primarily The incident in question takes place during the
identifiable with Hebron (rocked today by Arab-Israeli annual spring festival of Nabi Musa, when processions of ~
vi()lf'nr.f') thf' writinp p.v()kf'~ Pllrlip.r timf'~ frpp of Muslim pilgrims from all over Palestine converge on the
, teacher, he specialized in Arabic language, lIterature, and
history; he taught at schools in Damascus, Hebron, describes the humiliation of a barren Jewish wife, Flor,
Tiberias, Haifa, and elsewhere. He wrote poems and short
stories in Hebrew as well as articles on subjects like
j whose husband takes a second, younger wife to produce
offspring. "Ransom" is the final short story and portrays
the fearful novice Hakham Mercado Bekhar in Jerusalem.
modern Arabic literature and Jews in Damascus.
While his poetry and articles have not been He botches his first circumcision on a baby terribly and
collected, his Hebrew stories are now presented for the offers the poor Yemenite Jewish family money to call a
first time in English translation in "The Henry J. Leir doctor, but the baby's father takes the money to buy
Library of Sephardica: Texts and Studies," under general winter clothes for his naked children.
I editor Moshe Lazar. This series is a continuing effort to Author Yitzhaq Snami Though none of these stories offers a historical time
redress the balance in the canon of standard authors of frame, all internal clues point to the Ottoman period
modern Hebrew literature and make it more representative, before the First World War. There are horse-drawn
for until the 1970s, it was dominated by Ashkenazic carriages instead of motorcars, no electric lights at night
males. but dim oil lamps, and the pace of life is slow. These
"Hebron Stories" contains six short stories (pp. 3 elements hold true for Shami's novel "The Vengeance of
113) and a short novel of 10 chapters (pp. 117-227). the Fathers" except that in this case he provided a note
Divided equally between these two genres, the title explaining that "in the early 1900s, an incident like this
"Hebron Stories" was apparently chosen to draw actually occurred," although he says he wrote it as a
attention to the author's origins and to ills pacific novel some 25 years later.
writing. Although the fictional setting is not primarily The incident in question takes place during the
identifiable with Hebron (rocked today by Arab-Israeli annual spring festival of Nabi Musa, when processions of
violence), the writing evokes earlier times free of Muslim pilgrims from all over Palestine converge on the
hostilities between Palestinian Jews and Arabs as Shami shrine of Prophet Moses located about 25 miles east of
portrays life in the early decades of the 20th century. Jerusalem in the wilderness of the Jordan valley. Three
Of the six short stories, four feature Sephardic Jews major groups travel from Jerusalem, Hebron, and Nablus
and the other two Arabs. The novel, entitled "The - each with its own leader and flag-bearer, drummers
Vengeance of the Fathers," is peopled wholly with Arabs; and musicians, lancers and fencing champions. They
writing about it in the back cover blurb, Anton Shammas come on horeseback and on foot, men, women, and
points out that it "is the only novel in modern Hebrew children, with camels carrying their provisions for
literature whose characters, landscape, and narrative several days. On their way to the shrine, they have games
voice are all Palestinian." and tournaments, fencing showmanship, singing and
Both in his short stories and in his novel, Shami dancing. (The British authorities forbade this religious
writes in a leisurely style, unhurried by the modern festival in the 1930s fearing the political and security
preoccupation with speed. He details every movement repercussions of the huge gathering of Palestinian
minutely and describes every setting distinctly, leaving Muslims.)
out nothing that can add to the mood and atmosphere of Shami revels in the details and in describing the
the narrative he is creating. His wide knowledge of events of this festival as he narrates the rising tension
Sephardic life situations and of certain aspects of Arab between Abu al-Shawarib, leader of the Nablus group,
customs and attitudes permits him to dwell on the and Abu Faris, leader of the Hebron group. When they
feelings and inner thoughts of his characters as well as on meet in Jerusalem they are joined by the Jerusalem group
their outward appearance and behavior. Thus he recreates under the leadership of the Mufti and henceforth proceed
realistic personalities of a time now gone by. en masse to the Nabi Musa shrine. Abu Faris repeatedly
The story plots are mostly simple but they are snubs Abu al-Shawarib, and their two groups are
The English translations, though by different hands
sustained by Shami's delivering them in his deliberate dangerously polarized against each other. When Abu
(Israel Schen, Aubrey Hodes, Yael Lotan, and Richard
pace. Readers who crave action in stories may be Faris deceitfully takes the customary position of Abu al
Flantz), reflect the richness of the original Hebrew in its
frustrated by his style but those seeking ambience will be Shawarib in the ritual at the shrine, Abu al-Shawarib kills
colorful vocabulary, sentence structure, and dilating
rewarded and indeed moved by the deep human interest Continued on page 2 J
style.
of each story.