I first made the acquaintance of Rabbi David Small in 1964, the year that Harry Kemelman's groundbreaking mystery, Friday the Rabbi Slept Late, was first published. It was the first of a dozen books Kemelman would write about Rabbi Small, the fictional rabbi of a small synagogue in the equally fictional town of Barnard's Crossing, Massachusetts, and it was a good enough book to win the 1965 Edgar award for best first mystery novel from the Mystery Writers of America. It was certainly unusual for a religious mystery to attract such attention - well-deserved attention, in my opinion. I reviewed the book on the Classic Mysteries podcast back in December of 2011, and I think it's worth bringing that review back now. It's been edited (mostly to update the information about the book's availability); what has not been updated is the references to Chanukah, the Jewish festival of lights, being just two weeks away, even though we are now in July. I think Rabbi Small would forgive me, and I hope you will do the same:
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"As I passed by the large parking lot of our synagogue it occurred to me that it was an excellent place to hide a body. And as a rabbi is one who is learned in the law and whose basic function is to sit as a judge in cases brought before him, it seemed to me that he was the ideal character to act as an amateur detective by searching out the truth. Thus was born Rabbi David Small."
Those are the words of author Harry Kemelman, the creator of a character who is, arguably, the best known rabbi in mystery fiction. Rabbi Small is the hero of nearly a dozen low-key, highly entertaining mysteries. We’ll look at the rabbi more closely in Friday the Rabbi Slept Late, by Harry Kemelman.
The Jewish festival of Chanukah gets under way in about two weeks. It’s a relatively minor festival as Jewish holidays go, but it is a time to exchange presents. If you have friends who are mystery readers and who also are Jewish or have any interest in Judaism, you might want to consider introducing them to Rabbi David Small, the rabbi who is also an amateur sleuth in Harry Kemelman’s series of mysteries. The first of those books, originally published in 1964, was Friday the Rabbi Slept Late, and it is a marvelous, if low-keyed, traditional mystery with a most unusual detective.
Rabbi David Small is the spiritual leader of a small congregation in the fictional Boston suburb of Barnard’s Crossing. It is a Conservative (with a capital C) synagogue – as the only one in town, it walks a fine line trying to appeal to Orthodox and Reform Jews as well as those in the Conservative branch.
Rabbi Small – like many real life rabbis – finds himself unhappily planted squarely in the center of synagogue politics – and I have to say that Kemelman’s portrayal of the infighting and squabbling among different factions of the congregation are painfully true to life. Rabbi Small is a scholar and a traditionalist, and those qualities rub some influential members of his congregation the wrong way. As a result, some members of the synagogue’s board are fighting against renewing the rabbi’s contract. The rabbi, however, follows the principles of his faith – and, as the rabbi’s wife Miriam notes at one point, talking to the synagogue’s president, “David will change the world, Mr. Wasserman, before the world will change my David.”
While this is going on, there is a murder: the body of a young woman is found in the synagogue parking lot – and in the rabbi’s car, which had been left there overnight. The local police chief – a Roman Catholic – finds himself working with Rabbi Small in an effort to solve the mystery – and the two men quickly become friends and colleagues. Eventually, it will be Rabbi Small who studies the evidence and follows the trail to the murderer. And he does so by using techniques based on ancient Jewish law and traditions.
Meanwhile, the town is finding itself divided. The rabbi and the congregation find themselves the targets of some local anti-Semites, but they also draw deep support from much of the town’s community. And, in the course of all this, the battle over the rabbi’s contract will also find resolution.
Kemelman takes advantage of the story’s setting to present some basic facts about Judaism – and the rabbi’s traditional role in the Jewish community – for the benefit of Jews and non-Jews alike. Parts of it may be something of a revelation to both groups.
Harry Kemelman’s books about Rabbi Small are available as e-books at the moment, but there seem to be a pretty good number of print copies from various editions available for purchase from online dealers. Audio editions are available as well. Friday the Rabbi Slept Late is a good way to get to meet the rabbi – and it wouldn’t be a bad Chanukah gift for a mystery lover, Jewish or not.
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You can listen to the original audio review in its entirety by clicking here.
Next: And Four to Go, by Rex Stout.
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