Is It Good for the Jews? : More Stories From the Old Country and the New

“Jewish stories,” writes Adam Biro, “resemble every people’s stories.” Yet at the same time there is no better way to understand the soul, history, millennial suffering, or, crucially, the joys of the Jewish people than through such tales—“There’s nothing,” writes Biro, “more revelatory of the Jewish being.” With Is It Good for the Jews? Biro offers a sequel to his acclaimed collection of stories Two Jews on a Train. Through twenty-nine tales—some new, some old, but all finely wrought and rich in humor—Biro spins stories of characters coping with the vicissitudes and reverses of daily life, while simultaneously painting a poignant portrait of a world of unassimilated Jewish life that has largely been lost to the years. From rabbis competing to see who is the most humble, to the father who uses suicide threats to pressure his children into visiting, to three men berated by the Almighty himself for playing poker, Biro populates his stories with memorable characters and absurd—yet familiar—situations, all related with a dry wit and spry prose style redolent of the long tradition of Jewish storytelling. A collection simultaneously of foibles and fables, adversity and affection, Is It Good for the Jews? reminds us that if in the beginning was the word, then we can surely be forgiven for expecting a punch line to follow one of these days.

'Jewish stories,' writes Adam Biro, 'resemble every people’s stories.' Yet at the same time there is no better way to understand the soul, history, millennial suffering, or, crucially, the joys of the Jewish people than through such tales-'There’s nothing,' writes Biro, 'more revelatory of the Jewish being.'

 

With Is It Good for the Jews? Biro offers a sequel to his acclaimed collection of stories Two Jews on a Train. Through twenty-nine tales-some new, some old, but all finely wrought and rich in humor-Biro spins stories of characters coping with the vicissitudes and reverses of daily life, while simultaneously painting a poignant portrait of a world of unassimilated Jewish life that has largely been lost to the years. From rabbis competing to see who is the most humble, to the father who uses suicide threats to pressure his children into visiting, to three men berated by the Almighty himself for playing poker, Biro populates his stories with memorable characters and absurd-yet familiar-situations, all related with a dry wit and spry prose style redolent of the long tradition of Jewish storytelling.

 

A collection simultaneously of foibles and fables, adversity and affection, Is It Good for the Jews? reminds us that if in the beginning was the word, then we can surely be forgiven for expecting a punch line to follow one of these days.

 

Contents ......Page 6 Preface ......Page 8 Translator's Acknowledgments ......Page 9 1. In Lieu of an Epigraph: A Brief Story Containing within Itself All the Following Ones ......Page 12 2. The Officer's Ring ......Page 14 3. In Praise of Anti-Semites ......Page 23 4. Of Humility ......Page 29 5. Okuláré......Page 34 6. Of Wisdom ......Page 39 7. Of Children ......Page 45 8. Wailing ......Page 52 9. Of Education ......Page 56 10. Of Numbers ......Page 60 11. Thirsty for More ......Page 65 12. Of Privileges ......Page 68 13. Environment ......Page 72 14. Of Strength (of Conviction) ......Page 76 15. In English in the Text ......Page 82 16. A Witz for All Seasons ......Page 84 17. Of Jews and of Others ......Page 88 18. Di Ganef, Di Willst Davenen! ......Page 92 19. Assimilation ......Page 95 20. You Can't Escape Your Fate ......Page 102 21. Two Geopolitical Lessons ......Page 106 22. In Someone Else's Shoes ......Page 112 23. He Who Hunts ......Page 118 24. The World of Business ......Page 123 25. Games of Chance ......Page 127 26. The Emigrant ......Page 130 27. Of Money, Still ......Page 133 28. Of Us, and Them, of Them and Us ......Page 141 29. The Negotiation ......Page 144 Afterword ......Page 150 A sequel to the author's collection of stories "Two Jews on a Train". Through twenty-nine tales, it spins stories of characters coping with the vicissitudes and reverses of daily life, while painting a portrait of a world of unassimilated Jewish life. In his sequel to "Two Jews on a Train," the author offers twenty-nine humorous tales about Jewish life, from rabbis competing to see who is the most humble to a father who threatens suicide to pressure his children into visiting