First published 1995
Rabbi Isaac Kornfeld walks into the woods behind his suburban home, drawn by visions that blur the line between Jewish mysticism and ancient pagan forces. His wife finds his body hanging from an oak tree, a note in his pocket confessing his betrayal of monotheism for the seductive spirits of nature. Through letters and testimonies, the truth emerges about a scholar who abandoned Talmudic study for communion with tree nymphs and woodland gods. The remaining stories in this collection explore similar collisions between faith and desire, tradition and transgression. Characters struggle with the weight of Jewish identity in modern America, torn between ancestral obligations and personal longings. Ozick reveals how the sacred and profane intertwine in unexpected ways, showing ordinary people caught between competing spiritual worlds.
Genres: fiction, short-stories, literary-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, jewish
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: collisions-between-sacred-and-profane, competing-spiritual-worlds
Setting: America, Suburban Home
Period: 20th Century, 21st Century
270 pages · Paperback · Syracuse Univ Pr