Jewish Post, Indianapolis, Marion County, 29 January 2003 — Page 20

NAT 12 January 29. 2003

As I Heard It

Book Reviews

Back to the future

‘King of Comedy’ presents his collection

By MORTON GOLD Under the heading of old business, I want to reassure my readers that the performance of "Der Fledermaus" 1 conducted New Years Eve went very well and was well received. This

happened against all odds, as I had only two weeks to learn and prepare the score! Also, should any of my readers have a CD that they would likb'me to review in this space, if they would send it tb me along with a stamped envelope for its return, I will be pleased to do this. Please allow three to six weeks for its return. As for new business, I recently received a letter from a gentleman whom 1 am honored to regard as a colleague. Without impairing the privilege of privacy in what was after all a private communication, 1 feel that what he wrote is so important 1 simply have to share it w'ith my readers. My correspondent wrote as follows: "1 believe that the extremity of today's situation will run its course and ultimately collapse, precisely because of the triteness, cheapness and insubstantiality of its "music." When that time comes, 1 expect a genuine desire to arise for meaningful musical expression which will involve a return to "misach, clwzzomis" and a revival of the choir. The question is when. "This question reminds me of a humorous story of a rabbi telling his congregation of a compilation of his writings that he hopes will some day be published. Approached afterward and asked by a well-meaning congregant when the rabbi expected his book to be published, the rabbi responded, 'Oh, I don't know, probably posthumously.' "Whereupon the congregant, in a foreign accent responded, 'Veil, rabbi, I hope it shall be sooner dan later."' Let us hope that a general awareness and ultimate reaction against the hollowness of today's "participatory" tunes

which is smothering out our once glorious musical heritage will take place "sooner dan later." I could not have said it any better. Thank you dear friend. The "sooner" in the previ-

ous sentence will iidt happen if and/or until our worshippers realize that the soup has been watered. They do not know or even realize that what they are hearing today is indeed trite, vulgar and more. It may take a decade or longer before that realization occurs. I suspect that this awakening may occur when Jewish students, perhaps taking "Jewish studies" in college, come upon recordings of composers such as Janowski, Piket, Dunajewski, Jassinowsky, and a host of others. They may listen to the music of Bloch, e.g. his Sacred Service, Schelomo, Israel Symphony and Concerti Grossi. (They may even hear Haggadah by Gold!) They may listen to recordings by numerous cantors with superb choirs. THEN they may rightly ask, "Why do w'e not have anything like this in our temples any longer? Why do our services consist of a pastiche of trite and commonplace tunes sung poorly by a congregation that loves to hear the sound of their poor voices? Where are the cantors and choirs that once graced our synagogues and temples. Where are the creative souls, the temple musicians that once created works of artistic as well as religious merit, music that was worthy of the honor of praising the divine name?" When these same college students leave the halls of ivy and assume positions of leadership in their communities, they will find others who believe as they do. Then there

will be a generation divide as there is right now. The difference will be that the older generation will want the "chazerei" that we have today. Their music will be the traditional music of that time.

The younger generation will demand a return to quality. They will KNOW what quality is. A Beethoven, Mahler or Shostakovitch symphony will not be thought of as "high fallutin" boring music. These people will know how to read music and will demand music that will not insult their intelligence. Instead of politically correct or "spiritual" respOrtsive readings or aimless discussions that attempt to bring "relevance" into the service, the Jew and Jewess of tomorrow will have naught but contempt for these

contrivances.

The things that are timeless are precisely the things that are the most relevant and contemporary. The things that go out of fashion the quickest are precisely those things that are thought of as being "up to date" at any given time. Has anyone seen a hula

hoop recently?

When the next generation clashes with the "Now" generation they will do away with those things that are considered "modern" today in an attempt to find their roots in the synagogue. They will not sneer at a custom or convention merely because it was introduced in 1880, 1920 or whenever. If it was good, had a real purpose, uplifted the worshipper, then by all means keep it. I refer to those innovations such as the use of a mixed choir as an integral part of the musical apparatus, and not merely as a group of people that exist to help the congregaContinued on page 14

When these same college students leave the halls of ivy and assume positions of leadership in their communities, they zvill find others who believe as they do. Then there will be a generation divide as there is right now. The difference will be that the older generation will want the “chazerei'' that we have today. Their music zvill be the traditional music of that time.

By MORTON 1. TEICHER Alan King's Great Jewish Joke Book. By Alan King. New York: Crown Publishers, 2002. 175 pages. $16.95. Jewish humor has sometimes been treated as a serious and solemn subject that requires scholarly examination. In 1905, Sigmund Freud published Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious in which he offered a psychoanalytic interpretation of humor, using some of the many Jewish jokes he knew. More recently, Avner Ziv, a professor of psychology at Tel Aviv University, has organized annual conferences on humor, including discussions of Jewish humor. Learned papers are given in dry and pedantic prose even including tables and statistics. This sobersided inspection treats Jewish humor as warranting interdisciplinary sur-

veillance.

By contrast, Alan King relishes and appreciates good Jewish jokes without the weighty analysis. Those who join him in enjoying a good and even a not so good Jewish joke will take special delight in his superb collection. Readers of this book will inevitably laugh out loud as they become re-acquainted with some oldies and as they are treated to some that are new to them. Alan King is a first-class

performer who ranks with such outstanding Jewish comedians as Milton Berle, Jack Benny, Jackie Mason, Sid Caesar, Woody Allen, George Burns, Danny Kaye, Groucho Marx, Jerry Lewis, Mel Brooks, Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, and many others. He has brought together a comprehensive collection of jokes that represents the best in Jewish wit and humor. The material is organized into nine chapters: The Jewish Psyche, Observance, Bar/Bas Mitzvahs, Jewish Women and the Jewish American Princess, Jewish Boys and Men, Jewish Mothers, Jewish Grandmothers, Rabbis, Jews and NonJews. Each chapter is introduced by a witty paragraph that sets the stage for the jokes that follow. For some unexplained reason, the chapter dealing with Jewish Boys and Men is much longer than all the others. King suggests that perhaps the large number of jokes on this subject is the contradiction between the images of the Jewish male as intellectual and ineffectual. In any event, just as is the case with the other chapters, Miese are jokes to savor and to take pleasure in without laborious dissection. King's fine book adds to the extensive library of books that Continued on page 14

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