Just as the source of Ke-afapei Shahar colors the novel the source of Emet Mei’eretz Titzmach colors Aleppo Tales. The phrase comes from Psalm 85 where God takes the Jewish people back to our land despite our sins. God does not draw out his anger to all generations (verse 6) in the psalm or in the novellas. He brings Jacob back from captivity in verse 2 and in Aleppo Tales restores his Hebrew name to a Yaakov who had become Jacques. We can hope for the fulfilment of verse 7 Will you not revive us again that your nation may rejoice in you?
Because Rav Sabato writes about Jewish values in language that resonates with Tanach there is a timeless quality to his work. But in two ways his writings are also very relevant to the moment. Should the present hopes for peace – or some form of peaceful coexistence – materialize the threat of an attack against Israel will diminish. Then we will have to find what unites us beyond shared enemies. We must respect each other’s customs and appreciate each group’s distinctiveness whether we are from Bukhara or Budapest one outlook or another.
Rav Sabato who grew up in an educated culturally sophisticated family committed to Torah life and learning gives us a model for how to combine the best of both worlds. His elaboration of the richness of the Syrian tradition makes an Ashkenazic Jew for example realize how many more facets there are to Judaism than the one in which he or she was raised.
Rav Sabato also provides new approaches to the questions Wendy Shalit raised in her essay on observant fiction in the January 30 New York Times Book Review: Must an observant writer portray our community in a positive light? Can an outsider write about the observant community? How should we deal with the reality that a bad character may be more interesting than a good one? Is the author responsible to art or to religion?
Rav Sabato changes the discussion of insider/outsider while his novels move the discussion to a higher spiritual realm.
