Like a Dark Rabbi: Modern Poetry and the Jewish Literary Imagination by Norman Finkelstein

Abstract

Reviewed by: Like a Dark Rabbi: Modern Poetry and the Jewish Literary Imagination by Norman Finkelstein Maeera Y. Shreiber (bio) Like a Dark Rabbi: Modern Poetry and the Jewish Literary Imagination Norman Finkelstein Hebrew Union College Press, 2019. 275 pp. $35.95 paperback. In 1991, poet-critic Allen Grossman initiated a new chapter in the study of Jewish poetry when he declared that, according to Jewish thought, the sacred and the poetic are fundamentally at odds with one another. Norman Finkelstein was among the first to really consider Grossman's intentionally provocative claim in a thoroughgoing way: first in Not One of Them in Place: Modern Poetry and Jewish American Identity (2001); then in numerous essays probing the question of midrashic poetics, the tension and relation between the secular and the sacred in experimental verse; and, most recently, in a wonderful piece "On the Poetics of a Jewish God" (co-written with poet Michael Heller). This latter piece deftly negotiates Gershom Sholem, Israeli poet Chaim Bialik, and contemporary scholar of religious thought Steven Wasserstrom—to craft an account of a poetics animated by a dynamic relation to the sacred. This account is fully realized in Finkelstein's latest book, Like a Dark Rabbi: Modern Poetry and the Jewish Literary Imagination. This gathering of essays, some of which are expanded versions of earlier pieces while others are wholly new pieces written expressly for this occasion, is, as the author puts it, "an expression of devotion"(xv)—a dedicated and learned disciple's account of a rich and multi-faceted aesthetic as well as a spiritually-inflected enterprise. Finkelstein sets up some of the terms informing these essays in the opening chapter, focusing upon the "Two Shapiros" (1)—Karl and Harvey, both of whose names are now all but lost to history. Indeed, one of the gifts Finkelstein offers is the opportunity to discover new or overlooked voices. I was happy to spend a bit of time with Harvey Shapiro, whose "brilliantly understated style…epitomizes the endlessly paradoxical questions and answers that secular Jewish life provokes" (14). After working through some of the ways secularity animates Jewish verse, Finkelstein turns to consider the status of authentically Jewish languages in the making of Jewish American poems. For a long while, Jewish poets writing in English were seen as distinctly disadvantaged, not having access to the cultural, conceptual and spiritual resources inherent in Yiddish or Hebrew. But drawing upon the work of scholars such as Sander Gilman, Finkelstein proposes another mode of approach, noting how Yiddish, for example, functions as a "ghost" (18) or "hidden" (18) language informing not only the work of poet Jerome Rothenberg but also Finkelstein's own "post vernacular" (19) lyrics. This [End Page 162] move is but one instance of what makes the book appealing, as Finkelstein brings both a scholarly investment to the subject and an ongoing creative sensibility. Like a Dark Rabbi should appeal to a range of readers. Experts in the field will appreciate Finkelstein's carefully argued and attentive close readings; his discussion of Allen Grossman's ambitious poem "The Piano Player Explains Himself," a stunning but difficult example of this poet's prophetic reach, is a beautiful instance of Finkelstein's skill. Other chapters—such as the lively account of Charles Reznikoff, an important figure in twentiethcentury Jewish American writing—are well-suited to the non-professional who wants to learn more about the important role poetry plays in a literary field that often overlooks the genre altogether. In addition to working with well-known figures, Finkelstein works hard to expand the canon of Jewish American poetry, calling attention to poets whose names do not typically come to mind when the subject is Jewish poetics. Even more importantly, Finkelstein makes a concerted effort to expand the list to include two women poets whose works are only now beginning to garner the attention they deserve. His discussion of Chana Bloch showcases a poet who is able to name her doubt quite frankly without redemptively claiming it as part of a diasporic identity—and without ever backing away from her conviction in the deep wisdom to be gleaned from Jewish texts. Counterbalancing Bloch's sharp-edged...