The Dawning of the Day: A Jerusalem Tale [Hardcover]

Haim Sabato (Author), Yaacob Dweck (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2006

A humble man and a religious man, Ezra Siman Tov is also a teller of stories, stories that enthrall and captivate his friends in their old Nachlaot neighborhood of Jerusalem. His brother-in-law, Dr Tawil, gives him a grudging respect, the Torah scholars listen surreptitiously and the Great Writer - SY Agnon? - take his stories and give them form. But along with his stories, Ezra also has a shame and a secret, which overshadows his family.
Haim Sabato recreates a lost world in which faith provides a framework for life and a source of deep comfort. Translated by Yaacob Dweck from the original Hebrew.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With a keen eye for custom, award-winning Sabato (Aleppo Tales) beautifully captures the daily rhythms of an Israeli Sephardic community. Ezra Siman Tov has worked in the same laundry next to Jerusalem's Mahane Yehudah market for 50 years, cleaning and pressing prayer shawls to adorn a bevy of grooms as they await their brides under the bridal canopy. But Ezra is also a storyteller, and the characters at his command include a blind violinist whose plaintive tunes melt even the hardest of hearts; a frustrated scholar who pulls a prank and pretends his own verse is really the creation of a famous medieval poet; a yeshiva student whose planned treatise on the Talmud is threatened by writer's block; and a judge whose sight is miraculously restored after its loss is falsely rumored to be divine punishment for taking bribes. A pious, simple man who is generally content with his lot in life, Ezra must contend with the gentrification that threatens the laundry and with his beloved daughter's defection to Christian missionaries. His measured response conveys a community's timelessness. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Haim Sabato is an award winning writers whose works include Adjusting Sights 159264127X and Aleppo Tales 1592641261. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 181 pages
• Publisher: Toby Press (October 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592641407
• ISBN-13: 978-1592641406
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,846,711 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a rare book, March 20, 2007

By 

bonnie mitchell (WEST HARTFORD, CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Dawning of the Day: A Jerusalem Tale (Hardcover)

Here is a novel, such as it is, that transfers the imagery of Jerusalem and fills the soul with newness and awe. The subtle interaction of the scholars and a humble man of prayer are perfectly positioned. This is one of the finest books I've ever read. -- a librarian, Bonnie Mitchell

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Run slowly scholars of the night, November 26, 2006

By 

Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Dawning of the Day: A Jerusalem Tale (Hardcover)

There are writers who seem to live more in where their ancestors have been, than where they themselves are now. In this book Haim Sabato writes of another Jerusalem time and generation. He does so in a multi-layered Hebrew and legendary tone which strongly remind of Agnon. It is as if the writer is saying that this is no ordinary story we are here but rather something like a folk tale and religious midrash combined.
The lead character of the work is Ezra Siman Tov, a pious and righteous scribe who lives in harmony with his wife in Jerusalem. A good part of the book is devoted to describing the daily life and thought of this pious man whose every action is devoted to the service of God. Ezra Siman Tov has a secret a sin which troubles him and which he would repent for. He is a storyteller and in his meeting with others he recreates the world he has known. The blind fiddler Rahamim and Siman Tov's brother- in- law the frustrated scholar Tawil are two of those he meets with and influences.
The book is very good at creating the atmosphere of the Mahane Yehudah Jerusalem of the Old Yishuv. It slowly accumulates its descriptions of the various eccentric and often holy characters of the city. This is a book meant to be savored , and lingered with.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An ode to Jerusalem!, August 9, 2009

By 

M. T. Guzman "squeakychu" (Rockville, MD, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Dawning of the Day: A Jerusalem Tale (Paperback)

I truly loved this book. It was so beautiful. Beware, though, because I cannot recommend this book to everyone. It is filled with Jewish liturgy (the author teaches in a Jerusalem yehiva), stories within stories, and the pulse of life in Jerusalem. This was a book that for me, a person who had once lived in that golden city, brought nostalgia for Jerusalem to the point of tears. I found myself sometimes drifting into the story itself by "visiting" the places mentioned or "tasting" the ka'ak, a type of pastry, or sipping the sweet mint tea. I would say I was more taken in by the setting of this story than most other readers would be.

The main character, Ezra, is a simple man who works in a laundry and lives a life of piety. In his own way, he brings charm to those who know him by the stories he recounts to others.

More memorable characters walk the pages of this book. Rahamim is a blind musician with a story of the past. Dr. Yehudah Tawil is Ezra's erudite brother-in-law who loves to display his educational prowess. Haham Pinto is the sage who shares his knowledge by delivering religious sermons. Madame Sarah is Ezra's wife and true soul mate.

The liturgy that accompanied this story was fitting and inspirational. Due to the way in which the author brought authentic teaching to the secularism of his novel, this book filled my soul. I simply did not want it to end.