“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” —Henry Ford
Let’s give Henry permission to toot his own horn, shall we? Yes, he gave us cars en masse, but he reminds us that we don’t ever have to grow old. How did Clint Eastwood put it? “I don’t let the old man in.” (Did anyone just hear a two-note melody mimicking the sound of a coyote howling?) Good books will keep you young, people. Good books are excellent teachers.
I just learned about Oneg Shabbat, compliments of Lauren Grodstein. (Rae sent me Jenna’s pick We Must Not Think of Ourselves to add light to my days, love her.) Oneg Shabbat was the code name for a real-life group of historians, rabbis, writers, and trusted friends of Emanuel Ringelblum—they were dedicated to chronicling life in the Warsaw ghetto during the German occupation. Grodstein’s novel centers around a middle-aged professor named Adam Paskow. Before the invasion, Paskow “barely remembered [he] was a Jew.” Post 1939, the professor dedicated himself to teaching English in a cramped basement to bright children, falling for a roommate (unwittingly), and interviewing neighbors as part of the project. The interviews, like Adam’s heart, are substantive. They preach. And surprisingly, can uplift.
When Rae said this book was a winner, I never doubted. Not for one minute. Now I know the meaning of Oneg Shabbat—“a feeling of comfort and joy that is very hard to replace”—it can be experienced anywhere, even in the most deplorable circumstances. Even in a Jewish ghetto in 1942 Warsaw. Man, I feel lighter. Younger too.
Posted by Tracy