By
– April 23, 2012
The Ma Nishtana is one of the secrets of Jewish survival. “As long as children are chanting these questions,” Joseph Telushkin writes in his introduction, “the Jewish people will go on.”
That assurance takes on new meaning as one leafs through Ilana Kurshan’s small but fascinating new book. It is clear that the Ma Nishtana has found a place in Jewish homes around the world. And it is not some distant foreign prayer, but a prayer that people recite in their native tongue and that is passed on from generation to generation.
The author invites us to hear the Ma Nishtana chanted in twenty- three different languages, from French to Farsi, from Latin to Ladino and from Swedish to Turkish. The familiar words are reproduced here in each language. It is a surprise and delight to the eye to see the Ma Nishtana in Arabic letters, the Cyrillic alphabet of the Russians, and Marathi, the Indian dialect spoken by India’s Bene Israel.
Kurshan puts it all in context with a brief overview of Jewish life and culture among the speakers of the various languages. The book is illustrated with woodcuts and photographs of such activities as matza baking, Hamlet searching and seder gatherings around the Jewish world. It is a lovely accompaniment to any seder.
That assurance takes on new meaning as one leafs through Ilana Kurshan’s small but fascinating new book. It is clear that the Ma Nishtana has found a place in Jewish homes around the world. And it is not some distant foreign prayer, but a prayer that people recite in their native tongue and that is passed on from generation to generation.
The author invites us to hear the Ma Nishtana chanted in twenty- three different languages, from French to Farsi, from Latin to Ladino and from Swedish to Turkish. The familiar words are reproduced here in each language. It is a surprise and delight to the eye to see the Ma Nishtana in Arabic letters, the Cyrillic alphabet of the Russians, and Marathi, the Indian dialect spoken by India’s Bene Israel.
Kurshan puts it all in context with a brief overview of Jewish life and culture among the speakers of the various languages. The book is illustrated with woodcuts and photographs of such activities as matza baking, Hamlet searching and seder gatherings around the Jewish world. It is a lovely accompaniment to any seder.
Ari L. Goldman (ALG), a former New York Times religion writer, is a professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He is the author of three books, including the bestselling The Search for God at Harvard.
