You Shall Tell Your Children : Holocaust Memory in American Passover Ritual / Liora Gubkin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gubkin, Liora, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Haggadah.

Seder--Liturgy.

Seder.

Judaism--Liturgy.

Judaism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (224 p.)

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, NJ : Rutgers University Press, [2007]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Passover is among the most widely observed holidays for American Jews. During this festival of redemption, Jewish families retell the biblical story of Exodus using a ritual book known as a haggadah, often weaving modern tales of oppression through the biblical narrative. References to the Holocaust are some of the most common additions to contemporary haggadot. However, the parallel between ancient and modern oppression, which seems obvious to some, raises troubling questions for many others. Is it possible to find any redemptive meaning in the Nazi genocide? Are we adding value to this unforgivable moment in history? Liora Gubkin critiques commemorations that violate memory by erasing the value of everyday life that was lost and collapse the diversity of responses both during the Shoah and afterward. She recounts oral testimonies from Holocaust survivors, cites references to the holiday in popular American culture, and analyzes examples of actual haggadot. Ultimately, Gubkin concludes that it is possible and important to make a space for Holocaust commemoration, all the time recognizing that haggadot must be constantly revisited and “performed.”

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Listening to Voices from the Killing Ground

1. Passover and the Challenge of Holocaust Memory

2. Collected Memories

3. Wrestling with Redemption

4. Anne Frank, Hope, and Redemption

5. Heroism Redeemed: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

6. Provisional Conclusions

Notes

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Jun 2020)

ISBN:

0-8135-4390-8

OCLC:

796384804