The Rabbi's Cat, second volume

[salinea]

I posted about the first volume here. This is the second, that draws more in depth about the context of the country at the time.

(14 pages & 1/3 out of 45 pages)


This volume starts with the arrival of two letters.



... the mail is eventually read, one announces the arrival of the rabbi's cousin, Malka of the Lions (a rather infamous and dashing character to judge by the story told about him: he rescues people from lions in the desert - the lion's actually a domesticated one so it's a bit of a con :p); the other letter is:





But they don't let the cat in the building with the rabbi.











After that the cat can't speak anymore.







The rabbi is called to someone's deathbed, where he meets a young man from France, which after the preparation of the body & house for the funeral, he invites to stay with at his home because there was no room left for him to stay. The person turns out to be a rabbi just out of school who came here to officiate. The rabbi is persuaded he has come to replace him.











... and when they come home, actually the French rabbi has a job, but in another place, but more importantly... the rabbi's daughter turns out to want to marry him. Though that'll be for the third volume.

Comments

[rainspirit]

I found this book in the library after you posted the first volume, and now it's being borrowed by my uncle, who's been diligently lighting candles on the Menorah. :)

I really liked it up to volume 2, especially with that last great speech from the cat about crazy people. Unhappily, I read the entire book hoping the cat would regain the power to speak again - it was very sad how much it was expected of him, even at the climax of volume 3.

I'm sure there was some potent reason that escapes me for not giving the cat his voice back, but it was still a major let-down! The conversations between the cat and his owners were easily the best part of the volumes.

[salinea]

Yeah it's definitely a big tonal shift, although I still like it; it is not quite the same.

I'm glad you liked the first two volumes in any case and I hope so does your uncle:)

[rainspirit]

There were some things I liked about it, particularly with the trip to Paris, but I think my disappointment overshadowed it all a little. Do you think the cat sacrificing his speech like that actually had any effect on whether the Rabbi passed the test?

[icon_uk]

As I imagine the Rabbi might say "A prayer to God never hurts..."

[salinea]

It's not really a prayer tho.

[icon_uk]

Not a standard recited prayer perhaps, but invoking the name of God to aid you in your time of need is a sort of prayer, no? (That's a genuine, curiosity driven question, I don't know how strict Judaism can be about ad hoc, off the cuff, prayers)

[salinea]

I don't really know either, but the story itself frames it as "sacrilegious magic".

[imitorar]

Well, generally as long as you used an established form of prayer, you're alright. We don't really let people make up their own off the cuff anymore, not since the prayerbook started to standardize about 1,000 years ago. As to using G-d's name in vain, it's taken pretty strictly. But they're over-exaggerating the case a bit in the comic (a Sefer Torah IS compared to a human metaphorically, but you can't get stoned for burning a Sefer Torah, and G-d's name is only unerasable if written in Hebrew). Using G-d's name in vain isn't even punishable by death. It's lashes, at worst. And it's not like cats are bound by the commandments...

The really stupid thing is that NOBODY prays by just saying the name of G-d over and over. If the cat had said the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteen_Attributes_of_Mercy) it would have made sense, since that's an actual prayer involving the name of G-d, and a very high level one, generally said as part of the Yom Kippur liturgy and the build-up to Yom Kippur. Also, since it's a verse from the Torah, you're allowed to say it with G-d's name as long as you finish the verse, because then you're quoting the Torah, in which case it's permissible to use G-d's name verbatim. And as pointed out by others, we never say the Tetragrammaton as its properly pronounced anymore, so the cat didn't violate the Biblical prohibition. And it's awfully petty of G-d to take its power of speech for violating a Rabbinic prohibition.

Nu, suspense of disbelief, what are you going to do?

[pyrrhocorax]

I think the message was more that God was with the Rabbi and helped him pass the test without the cat's intervention, and by taking God's name in vain the cat lost his voice as a punishment because he was using it to do a bad thing. He should have had faith in God instead of trying to use him.

And now I feel funny about leaving the o's in and funny about taking them out. THANKS STORY.

[skemono]

by taking God's name in vain the cat lost his voice as a punishment

Which is kinda weird, since "adonai" isn't God's name.

[salinea]

That's a possible interpretation, although it feels to me that the story overall isn't that strongly pro-faith (it is positive about Judaism, but in a fairly cynical and gently poking fun way) that "he should have had faith in God" would be the main message.

[imitorar]

Well, the Jews themselves often have a cynical and fun-poking attitude toward Judaism, although that's come to characterize the Ashkenazim more than the Sephardim this story is about. I think the author's Sephardi, for whatever that's worth.

[salinea]

although that's come to characterize the Ashkenazim more than the Sephardim this story is about.
Of course. From the point of view of American culture, Sephardim barely exist.

[imitorar]

Yep. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AllJewsAreAshkenazi

To be fair, if you compare the population numbers to the Ashkenazim, the Sephardim really do barely exist. There are four times as many of us (which is odd, given that 1/2-2/3 of us were killed in the Holocaust, but there it is). And once the Ashkenazim started coming to America, they came in far greater numbers. Not to mention that the Sephardi immigrants (since WWII, anyway) have tended to keep to themselves, whereas most of the Ashkenazim immediately set about assimilating and breaking into the entertainment business. Most of the stereotypical "Jewish" jokes were created by the Jews themselves.

Basically, if the Sephardim want to break in to American culture, they're going to have to become television writers and make incessant jokes about themselves for mass consumption like we did.

[salinea]

wow, thanks for telling us we deserve being erased from mainstream media.

[imitorar]

I... didn't say that? I was explaining a historical trend. I stated no opinion as to whether that trend DESERVES to exist or not.

[salinea]

How was I supposed to interpret "if the Sephardim want to break in to American culture, they're going to have to become television writers and make incessant jokes about themselves for mass consumption like we did." other than "we've got ours, screw you."

Also, I'm wondering why you thought you'd need to explain anything to me. It's rather patronizing to presume of my ignorance this way.

[imitorar]

I was trying to make a joke when I said that. I just find the way the Ashkenazim rose to cultural hegemony over representations of Judaism funny, that's all. I don't even like most of them (the representations, that is, not the Ashkenazim).

First of all, how should I know how much you know? Better safe than sorry. If you already know what I said, you can ignore it or just say "yeah, I know", and if you don't, well, now you know. Second of all, presumably you aren't the only person who's ever going to read this comment thread, and while you may have already known what I wrote, not everyone who's going to read this necessarily does.

[salinea]

Yeah.

[espanolbot]

There's a film of this coming out soon isn't there?

[salinea]

There was a French movie out a few years ago. I have no idea if there's any plan involving importing it to the US.

[espanolbot]

I saw an English subtitled trailer yesterday, though I'm not 100% sure whether it was just the trailer for the French release that was subtitled or the actual film itself.

[icon_uk]

I believe there is

[salinea]

Nifty!

[leoboiko]

I don't have anything witty to say, but I just wanted to thank you for posting these. Great comics.

[salinea]

You're welcome! :)

[palabradot]

I need to pick this up. I've seen it in the bookstore and wanted to buy it but other things distracted me.
You've definitely convinced me. It'll be my next purchase, I promise.

[salinea]

Hope you enjoy them :)