Customer Reviews

Friday the Rabbi Slept Late

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rabbi Small is a young, "rookie" rabbi at a synogogue in an upstart, suburban Boston community which only recently has had many Jews in the town. The congregation would prefer a "star" that they can show off to their Gentile neighbors--a man who presents himself well at community events--more than they want a spiritual leader and teacher. Unfortunately, Rabbi Small doesn't quite fit their bill: he is often unkempt, he gets lost in his books, he refuses to participate by blessing the boats in the town's annual regatta. He even publicly chides the Sisterhood for serving non-Kosher food at one of their luncheons. At the same time that the Rabbi's contract comes up for renewal, there is a new problem--he is implicated in the murder of a young woman, whose body is found in the synogogue parking lot and whose purse is found in his car. Forming an alliance with the local Irish-Catholic police chief, the Rabbi proceeds to solve the crime, while simultaneousl! y working to win over the confidence of the synagogue Board of Directors to keep his job.

The book is a short, one-or-two nights read, easy to get into. As a mystery, it rates well but not among the great mystery classics. Kemelman's strength as a writer lies not in his build-up of the mystery tension, but rather in his ability to portray characters, including their admitted foibles, within their social context. The portrayal of suburban synagogue politics is uncannily accurate, as well as the struggle within the Yankee town to deal with the specter of prejudice and anti-Semitism when the Rabbi becomes a murder suspect.

For a light mystery, a sort of "Murder, She Wrote" with sociological insight and a Jewish twist, try this first of the "Rabbi" mystery series.

There's no need for me to recap the story- others have done it already. I do believe that some reviewers of this book, and other books in the series , have missed the point. Rabbi David Small is not a detective who enters a crime scene, recreates the events in his head and presents the police with the killer. He is a student, and a teacher. He is a man who has trained himself to think "outside the box" as the term is now. That is how he manages to lead the police to the criminal.

Another fantastic element of these books is the insight into the Jewish religion. As a gentile (and Protestant Christian) I may not agree with all of the rabbi's beliefs, but I can, and should, respect them. In a foreward to the new editions The late author explained why he began writing about a rabbi who was often in conflict with his congregation. It was because many people of his faith were not aware of the rich heritage or the historical purpose of the rabbi. His agent liked the book but thought he should add a mystery element to it. Thus was born the crime solving rabbi.

Do these stories move with the speed of an Agatha Christie yarn? No. They don't even try. Kemmelman tells stories about people- the crime is often secondary. Are they charming and entertaining? Oh, yeah.

This is the book to start with. Then hang out with the rabbi on every day of the week. Then SOMEDAY. Then ONE FINE DAY. Then on THE DAY THE RABBI RESIGNED. Then on THE DAY THE RABBI LEFT TOWN. Your only regret will be that Mr. Kemmelman only wrote 11 Rabbi Small mysteries.

Throughout the series, Rabbi David Small has his own problems. There is always a battle to whether his contract is renewed or not, and he's often in conflic with social or political desires of his congregation.

The contrast is that Rabbi Small does deeply care, but in his own way. He cares deeply about justice and Jewish law, and follows his own ethics and beleifs. If he feels his congregation is off track, he tells them, and opposes things no matter what the cost might be to himself.

Don't get me wrong; he very well might have been the wrong Rabbi for the community. In many ways, he was suited to a different age. Temples, like churchs and other social clubs, have needs and desires. Rabbi Small was kind of a throwback to a different age, and may not have been the right man for that community. It's easy to see how a principled man like Rabbi Small would not fit in; when he took a stand it was for a reason, and he wasn't much for bending a little to make a friend or save his job.

Over the course of the books it's also shown he has an affinity for younger jews, best described in Monday the Rabbi Took Off. During a Sabbath dinner, he argued on points with a college student. Afterwards, the student told his father he liked Rabbi Small. They may have disagreed on issues, but Rabbi Small neither pandered or lectured him - he treated him like an adult worthy of respect.

Rabbi Small's first adventure found himself as a suspect - because the murder victim's purse was found in his car. Suspicion shifted away to him to one of his flock, but the Rabbi pointed out things in his member's favor - which went right back at him. What he showed was an unwaring bias for the truth - as well as logic and interpretation of the facts. He even told the police chief that just because he was a Rabbi didn't mean he should throw out his common sense.

If there is a weakness to the book, it was that the mystery was too easy to solve by the reader. The same thing which triggered Rabbi Small's suspicions was the same flag which led me to the correct solution. Still, it was a fun book, and a great introduction to a great series of books.

I found Harry Kemelman's Friday at a library while looking for something else. I read this book "way back when" and remembered enjoying it. On a whim, I checked the book out and it sat for a while before I decided to take a look at it. I finished it in two sittings. Is it an intellectual masterpiece? No. Is it damned entertaining? Absolutely! I plan to visit the weekdays with Rabbi Small beginning very soon. If you've never read this series, do so. If you read it a while ago, read it again.

This is my 6th book read in Kemelman's weekday series, but I liked most of the other ones better. Of course, as the 1st one, it was innovative to have a Rabbi detective (as far as I know), especially one who's always embroiled in Temple politics. I think Kemelman's mystery is a bit weak in this one, but his characterizations are still first-rate. I especially like the Chief of Police. He's a trip! In each book, the author includes short dissertations by Rabbi Small on (presumably Conservative) Judaism--especially on how it differs from other religions (mostly Christianity). This is informative but not intrusive on the mystery story. However, sometimes Small's statements seem a bit off-the-wall to me. In this book, he insinuates that Judaism doesn't believe in an afterlife. This is false. Judaism has had sages, mystics, etc. with somewhat different views on the afterlife. These include a heaven (Eden or "The World to Come" or a multiplicity of heavens), a purgatory (not really hell because it's temporary=Gehinnon or Sheol), and (for Kabbalists) a type of reincarnation (Gilgul). Of course, this is a novel, and Kemelman doesn't claim to be a Rabbi, but it does seem a bit misleading to me. I liked his Saturday through Tuesday books better than this one. Still, it's a fun series & light reading (it's not Agatha or Doyle or even Lawrence Block). The series is of the armchair detective variety--not a lot of action. As for me, I still have Thursday to read.

This is a charming portrait of a Jewish community. Rabbi David Small is not quite thirty. He is to use the Din Torah method of settling an argument between two members of his congregation and angers an influential member of the temple board of directors in the process. His contract renewal is jeopardized as is the gift the board members were considering of granting him, a cash payment of about ten percent of his first year salary.

Small fears there is no role for him in a modern Jewish community since he is not a go-getter. He had sought the role of a traditional rabbi. Jacob Wasserman cautions David to give the community a chance. Wasserman had been instrumental in starting a Hebrew School and afterwards the synagogue. Now there are over three hundred families to serve and a lot of differences of opinion. Rabbi Small is not imposing. Wasserman selected him among the applicants for his courage and conviction, not for his abilities, he had none, as a dynamic executive. Small knows the congregation needs him.

The body of Elspeth Bleech, a servant hailing from Nova Scotia, is found on the temple property. After assisting the police, the rabbi does have his contract renewed, although David questions the means since he feels that he has gotten in through the back door. To counter rising anti-semitism in the community, the leading selectmen ask the rabbi to participate in the blessing of the fleet, an event the chamber of commerce dreamed up several years earlier, (Barnard's Crossing has a number of yacht clubs). Small refuses, explaining that prayers in Judaism are rarely petitionary. It turns out that the rabbi has nearly the powers of ratiocination of a Sherlock Holmes.

I remember when Harry Kemelman's 'rabbi' series were best sellers in the 1960s/1970s. Thirty years on, after the books are all but forgotten, I decided to try out 'Friday the Rabbi Slept Late' - the first in the series. Was it worth the wait?

The story is about a rabbi in New England who is dealing with bureaucratic hassles with his congregation. Yes, apparently even amongst the Jewish orthodox politics is a fact of life. Just when the rabbi (Rabbi Small) seems to unable to cope a murder is committed outside his temple. And Rabbi Small is both a (reluctant) sleuth and murder suspect. (..you can guess the rest)

While Harry Kemelman is a capable writer and the book makes for fun (albeit light) reading, the story has telemovie or TV crime drama feel to it. It left me neither shaken nor stirred.

Bottom line: a light read, perhaps better suited to young teens. But this book cannot hold a candle to the works of Agatha Christie or Patricia Highsmith.

The mystery series that began with Friday the Rabbi Slept Late was one of my father's favorites. In fact, I'm writing my review after rereading the original 1964 paperback from my parents' house. I understand why Pop liked the novel so much (he was one of the people who started our town's synagogue, so he'd relate to it) but the book doesn't age all that well.

The simple premise: a young woman, a live-in babysitter, is found dead on the synagogue's grounds, and circumstantial evidence points at the rabbi. The rabbi -- who's a bit of a Talmudic scholar -- doesn't only want to clear his name; he gets involved in solving the mystery. It isn't quite a cozy mystery because he works with the local police chief, but it's close.

It's still a good story, after all these years. It's just that it's now primarily a historical mystery, reflecting life in a 1960s Boston suburb where everyone in the community knows one another. Certainly it's not representative of the way we'd expect a murder to be handled today, even in the suspend-your-disbelief of a cozy mystery story. In a way, though, that's part of the novel's charm. I found myself thinking, "How sweet to imagine anyone behaved this way" rather than "I so TOTALLY do not believe the police chief would let him do that."

One reason this book was a phenomenon in the early 60s (at least among my parents' friends; EVERYone read it) is that the story does a very good job at imparting what it means to be a rabbi and sharing "how Judaism works." It's respectful and interesting and informative; or at least it was when I first read this book at age 10 (Perhaps I was a little young for it, but hey, the book was in the house.) The politics of a small town, the little dances that people do to protect their interests, are all well handled. And the people are NICE.

If you're a practicing Jew, you'll probably enjoy Friday the Rabbi Slept Late because it does such a good job of portraying the religion. And if you read it as a reflection of its time -- when men wore hats and rock'n'roll was offensive to adults -- maybe then, too.

However, by today's standards, the pacing is weird and the process of sleuthing strange; the "whodunnit" was pretty obvious (but then I DID read the book before... maybe it was obvious only to me). Somehow, though, I find myself forgiving the book its weaknesses. Perhaps you will, too.

quickly shipped and in good condition. It's a very interesting book also. though 50 years old, it depicts suburban jewish synagogues very well.

Harry Keleman's FRIDAY THE RABBI SLEPT LATE introduces an unusual figure to the world of ameatur detectives. David Small is a rabbi and he doesn't fit the mold for an unscale Boston Jewish temple, but with the help of an Irish priest he gets the job done.
Two powerful aspects of the novel are the outstanding characters and the running dialogue between the rabbi and priest on the importance of faith.
An excellent read that lacks the tension of a modern mystery.
Nash Black, author of SINS OF THE FATHERS