Customer Reviews

One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross

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This Rabbi Small mystery is truly absorbing; I couldn't put it down. It's not only a mystery novel, but partly a spy thriller: you get two for the price of one. Rabbi Small and his wife spend the summer in Israel, where a professor from their home town is murdered and a boy from their home town (now attending Yeshiva in Israel) is blamed. The murder, it turns out, is connected with a Druze conspiracy to steal a PLO weapons cache--which naturally brings the Mossad and Shin Bet into the picture. Simply gripping.

At the same time, Harry Kemelman tries to use Rabbi Small as a foil to discuss the state of modern Judaism. He explains the Jewish customs which come up in his novel, by making Small explain them to his gentile friends--or argue about them with other Jews. And he doesn't just explain; he opines: Kemelman lets you know just what he thinks of ultra-orthodoxy, the "born again" baal-tshuvah movement, and a few other hot issues in modern judaism. American Jews especially are likely to enjoy the "home town" feel of the Rabbi Small mysteries.

Non-Jews may find it eye-opening to catch the glimpses of Jewish culture, religion and ethics. As a tiny example, Small reminds his wife not to appear interested at an Israeli shop, because it would be wrong to raise the shopkeeper's hopes and then dash them. In addition, there are all the other issues mentioned above.

Kemelman's explanations are at least as important as his plot, and there is a fair bit of it. You may find that a touch heavy-handed, but I think that Kemelman pulls it off pretty well. The book is really a gripping whodunit.

Even better, it's the rare sort of whodunit with a complicated enough plot to keep your attention. Turning to the end won't help you; the mystery is solved, but there remain a few unanswered questions "for reasons of national security". I think that adds a satisfying realism.

of course trouble finds him even there.

As this 9th volume of the Rabbi Small series opens the Smalls have just dropped their teenagers off at summer camp and decide on the spur of the moment to take an offer (one of several) to return to Jerusalem for a few weeks. Word quickly spreads through Barnard's Crossing of his departure and the Rabbi finds himself deluged with various errands, purchase a cross, check up on a son studying there etc. Before he even lands Rabbi Small finds himself being drawn in an international conspiracy, one that will bring him in conflict yet again with members of his own congregation, Orthodox Jews in Israel, the local police and Israeli secret service as he once again must extract a member of his community from trouble.

The charm of this series of cozies lies more in the characters and their various problems and points of view rather than in the mystery. More than half the book elapses before the corpse even appears and most readers will not have much trouble figuring out the crime. It is still a most enjoyable read and for anyone who has read any of the previous books, wonderful to see what the Rabbi and his family are up to now.

Years ago, I raced through all the mysteries of Rabbi Small's fictional week ("Monday the Rabbi...", "Tuesday the Rabbi..."). I loved the mix of character, dry humor, and philosophical spins on the Talmud and society. It's been ages, however, since I visited the books of Harry Kemelman's famous rabbi/detective.

"One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross" gave me a chance to revisit a favorite series, particularly after my recent journey to Israel. I found the Holy Land to be fascinating in its mix of peoples and customs, and I was immediately drawn to the potential in this story.

As usual, Rabbi Small and his wife are living normal life with no intention of becoming involved in police investigations. This time, they travel to Israel to spend a summer among friends and family, while also avoiding a few disgruntled acquaintances. The Rabbi soon finds himself entangled in legal matters when a body is found half buried outside the Old City of Jerusalem.

Although the details of the plot are woven together nicely, there isn't much here but a standard story with a memorable cast and a backdrop of Jewish tradition trying to find its place along the modern state of Israel. It was fun to revisit the rabbi, or, as it were, to go on another fictional journey with the wise but irascible fellow. It brought back memories. It stirred recent experiences in my mind. And it provided some enjoyable insights into another part of the world.

I thought that this book was quite intersesting and enjoyable. I dont know if all the locations in Israel is as accurate.

I have read most of the Rabbi Small mysteries and didn't even know that this one existed until I stumbled across it on Amazon. I really enjoyed it even more than I liked some of the earlier ones These works of fiction were written in part to try and explain Judaism to Christians and Christianity to Jews. Here I was particularly purplexed by the authors attempt to explain the term "born again" because he missed the point entirely but that didn't change the fact that this is a good book and worth reading for fans of the Rabbi.

6/6/04 Although the "Rabbi"'s section on how where, why and how he & his wife decided to vacation in Israel were 'not the better part of the book' ,the 'plot of the mystery' was good(since the book is separated in several chapters into scenario re 'the Arab' vs scenario re 'the Rabbi')...copyright in 1987, the book unfolds 1. that the CIA,FBI also are not the only "big brothers watching" especially in melting pots such as the USA where all groups formed on their "commonality" try to keep an eye on the going ons of "those whom they prejudice to or paranoid of" with networks for "et al" outside the country for their reporting such finding,as one of author Harry Kemmelman's character states near the book's beginning "they didn't have to evaluate info,just gather it"; 2. of the ways possible that weapons are gotten into various sections of the world,and used often not by those who they were originally intended for and how an innocent person who has nothing to do with "foreign intrigue" ,turns out to be the victim(in this case the victim ,an American college professor,who naively agrees to deliver a letter (the letter has a map showing the whereabouts of 'a ton of weapons')accidently dies, in the course of events);he dies of as he had called the Dx on him in patientlayterms "Triple A" ('AAA' for Aneurysm of the Abdominal Aorta)ascerbated by being gagged and tied in the foreign land.The book leaves no questions unanswered about the Sabbaths in Israel ; (Fri-Muslim;Saturday:Israeli(Jerusalem) & Jews(Tel Aviv);Sunday:Christians),all whom must take a day off to observe one of the 3 days as "their Sabbath"....also that the weapons when found are given away vs being fought for(with no strings attached !).