Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home

This 1969 story is the third in the Rabbi Small series. It is springtime in Bernard's Crossing and the local Jewish community is preparing for Passover, children are making plans to return for the holiday and it is also time for the Temple Brotherhood to begin planning for the upcoming year. The Temple has been growing and has begun to divide into two factions, one favoring social action and the other preferring the status quo but both united in their occasional frustrations with Rabbi Small. These matters of Temple politics are forced into a backseat when some college aged members of the congregation are implicated in the death of a young man. Rabbi Small again rises to the challenge of solving the crime and sorting out the various disputes within the congregation. There are tell tale signs of the age of this novel, the spelling of 'marihuana'as opposed to marijuana, referring to blacks as Negroes among others but overall the story has retained it's appeal. As always with this series the mystery is secondary to the characters and depiction of life in the Temple and the small New England town. Most mystery fans will be able to pick out the culprit long before the final pages but the suspense of how the various Temple issues will turn out will continue to keep the reader guessing until the end.

This was my 1st Kemelman book (I selected him from the Mystery Lovers' Book of Quotations). The author weaves considerable religious explanation & description into his fictional account, but in a realistic, sensitive manner. His books may help improve cross-religious understanding overall. However, it is basically a mystery and, the author does provide sufficient clues for the reader to "solve" the crime--though with a great deal of difficulty IMHO. I appreciate this a lot. There is a lot of infighting amongst the characters which I find a bit disturbing--though unfortunately it's probably realistic. The main character is a real find--I'd like to meet such a person in person. But, most of all, this is a fun book to read. Enjoy! I plan to read more Kemelman.

In this tale David Small is in his mid thirties. He has been at Barnard's Crossing for six years. The rabbi is going away on a trip. He agrees to give Ben Gorfinkle's son a ride back from college. Temple politics are driving David a little crazy. He sees himself in the traditional role as rabbi-- scholar and teacher. The man who speaks to the temple congregation in David's stead urges the creation of a social action fund. His words do not please the older more staid members of the congregation. David is substituting for Rabbi Dorfman at Hillel House. He draws about twenty five worshippers to the service. He explains to Father Bennett, a Catholic chaplain, that Jews are content with the human level, they do not aspire to sainthood. Some of the issues vexing the members of the temple at Barnard's Crossing are that Board Members under Wasserman, Becker, and even Schwartz were chosen because they worked for the temple or at least it was hoped they would work for the temple in the future. The new trend, derived from participation in large business orgnizations, of men such as Ben Gorfinkle the current president, is that majority stockholders take over all of the top jobs and fill the board of directors with their own men. Wasserman reports to Rabbi Small that Gorfinkle's committee arppointments are liable to start a fight. Some of the older members want to oppose the new people by founding another synagogue. By tradition the rabbi holds an open house for the returning college students. Stu Gorfinkle reports to his father that the rabbi has said in regard to an impending split of the congregation that he would serve neither group. Stu feels the rabbi is straight talking. The rabbi had a personal friendship with the first president, Wasserman, and the support of the two subsequent presidents, Becker and Schwartz. Gorfinkle summons David to a meeting and his words seem to come directly from a personnel manual. Gorfinkle points out that sometimes originators of an organization get puffed up with their own importance. In the end David says angrily that he does not need a temple or synagogue to fulfill his function as the leader of the Jewish community of Barnard's Crossing. Gorfinkle is chided by his brother-in-law, a newspaper editor, over his treatment of the rabbi. A young man dies of alcohol poisoning or another cause in an empty house. For the sake of temple harmony Gorfinkle's nominee to head the ritual committee declines to serve in the post. The structure viewed as a possible place to house the new synagogue is the place the boy died and is, thus, unsuitable. In any event, the congregation does not split.

"Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home," by Harry Kemelman, is a fascinating crime story featuring a ... rabbi as its hero. David Small is the rabbi of the synagogue in the "Yankee town" of Barnard's Crossing. As the book opens the rabbi is caught up in a political power struggle within his own congregation. But the situation gets even stickier when a crime is committed and the rabbi is drawn into the investigation. Illegal [substance] trade and racial prejudice complicate the matter.This is a really fun read. Kemelman has a very engaging writing style, and the smart, stubborn Rabbi Small is a marvelous character. There is occasional dated language ...but overall the book really holds up.The story offers a really intriguing look at a Jewish community and specifically at life within the synagogue. A number of interesting issues are raised--the role of the synagogue in society, the role of the rabbi, etc. A good book not only for lovers of crime fiction but also for those interested in Jewish-American studies.