Thursday, 8 November: selections from the Exodus story

·        Poetry reader: Tanya Stanley

Poem: Michael S. Glaser, “Preparations for Seder,” UA 176-77

 *Courtesy of Joanna Harlan, 2006 Poetry Presentation

Broad Analysis:

The quote from the Haggadah suggests that an obligation exists within the Jewish community to discuss the historical migration from Egypt in which they learn from reading the Torah as we learn by reading Exodus in the Bible for today’s lecture.

·       Objective 4 specifies national migration; the quotation given directly before the poem refers to the Exodus/migration story.

·       Most of the members of the Jewish community do not intend on assimilating with the dominant (or core) culture—especially those of the older generations.  (Think of American Wedding in which the groom’s Jewish grandmother refuses to accept the non-Jewish fiancé into her grandson’s life. The groom’s father has no qualms about the non-Jewish fiancé, which is often prevalent within the younger generations.)

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/06/1060145721042.html

·       A section within Deuteronomy also suggests that the Jewish community feels there is an obligation to tell the migration story. Deuteronomy 10:17-19 reads “For the Lord, your God, is the God of gods, the Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who has no favorites, accepts no bribes; who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and befriends the alien, feeding and clothing him. So you too must befriend the alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.”

                                                                                                http://usccb.org/mrs/nmw/scripturethemes.shtml

Link provided for definitions:

http://coursesite.uhcl.edu/HSH/Whitec/LITR/4333/models/2006/prsns/poetry/p06harlan.htm

Textual Analysis

Stanza I:

The persona remembers his grandmother cooking…


 

       schmaltz               

        &                                               http://www.cookingforengineers.com/recipe/177/Matzo-Matzah-Ball-Soup

matzoh balls while he was young.                                               

http://yourjewishmother.wordpress.com/2007/08/31/you-write-matzah-ball-i-write-matzoh-ball/

As the persona prepares the food for the celebration of Seder, he describes the tradition aspect of cooking the meal.  The persona remembers the story of his father receiving the cracklings that were handed down from the stove from the father’s mother.  The grandmother lived in Boston which suggests she was at least a first generation immigrant.

Stanza 2:

The persona enjoys the cracklings and wonders “how much harder for her [his grandmother], hot before the wood stove, peeling bits of fat from the muscle of chickens that ran free in the yard.”  The persona probably buys pre-packaged chicken from a grocery store, which leads to stanza three.

Stanza 3:

The worries of the ever-changing promised land echo in the voice of the persona’s father; worries about harmful fat-preserving carcinogens.  The persona contemplates on the hazardous chemicals, and then stops and reminds himself that tonight is the eve of Passover—a time to celebrate the past and not dwell in the present.  The persona continues preparing the meal stating he “will not forsake the traditions of my [his] ancestors.”

Last Stanza:

The persona and his family follow the Seder tradition and he recalls the journey through the desert—the promised land.  Notice the poet’s use past participle of the word promise.  The word promise suggests a hope; the word promised suggests a notion of negation.  Typically the Promised Land is also capitalized emphasizing the assurance of a better place, but the author’s oppression forces him to de-emphasize the lost hope.  The use of “succulent and dangerous” simultaneously creates an impression that the promised land, along with the feast of Seder, are both juicy and interesting while being dangerous towards one’s health and well-being.  The carcinogens in the food can cause cancer; the oppression of the Jewish community is a cancer which is caused by the dominant culture.

Look at stanza one, second line, at the word scrape and then look at the first five words of stanza three:  “now the fat is plentiful.”  Scrape gives a connotation of not having enough fat for the cracklings.  The fat being plentiful in stanza three insinuates that the persona does not feel oppressed until he begins to think of the past and remembers his grandmother—remembers the good old days.

Do you think the persona lives in a world in which he is very much assimilated until he remembers his past and begins to disregard assimilation and the dominant culture?

Do you believe the persona’s memories of the past and his family’s past are both brought about by traditions in which he “will not forsake?”