The Rabbi and the Cross

Years ago, before my mom died, she loved to read Harry Kemelman’s Rabbi Small mysteries. One day, last month, Amazon sent me an email with suggested Kindle books they thought I’d enjoy. I clicked and purchased One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross.

Why would a rabbi buy a cross? Actually, the purchase of the Christian symbol had little to do with the book. Rabbi Small and his wife, Miriam, traveled to Jerusalem to spend the summer with their aunt. The cross purchase was a favor to a Christian friend back home. 

The mystery was about a former congregant of the rabbi’s from Barnard’s Crossing, Massachusetts. Jordon Goodman, now an orthodox young man, has enrolled in a Jerusalem yeshiva, and changed his name to Ish-Tov. (In Hebrew, “ish” means man and “tov” is good.)

Ish-Tov has gotten himself into a pickle. The body of a college professor is discovered in a neighbor’s backyard and Ish-Tov’s fingerprints are all over the shovel left at the gravesite. It is presumed that the young American committed the crime because he had a grudge against the professor for cutting his financial aid when he was attending college, forcing Ish-Tov to drop out of school. 

I understood immediately why my mom loved Kemelman’s series. Throughout the novel there are references to Jewish culture, religious practices, and the Hebrew language. Also, the author develops his characters and setting with interesting details. 

Readers follow Rabbi Small’s activities as he is plunges into a deadly conflict between religious extremists with Ish-Tov bumbling his way into the center of the mess. 

One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross takes place in the late 20^th Century, so you won’t find references to cell phones and computers. What you will find is excellent writing and an entertaining story. Enjoy.  

About the Author

Harry Kemelman grew up in Boston where his parents had settled after emigrating from Russia. His ambition in life was to become a writer. After serving in the second world war as a chief wage administrator, he was appointed an assistant professor of English at Franklin Technical Institute in 1963. In 1964 Friday, the Rabbi Slept Late was publishedin which Rabbi Small made his first appearance, and which made use of material from Kemelman’s own factual account of the building of his local temple. This novel went on to win the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe award in 1964. Kemelman went on to write ten more Rabbi Small mysteries. He was 88 years old when he passed away in 1996. 

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