Prairie KaddishIsa Milman uses historical and personal awakening, and archival sleuthing, to create a "kaddish" - a Jewish prayer of mourning and commemoration - for a prairie community that now exists only through remembrance. Prairie Kaddish begins with the author's serendipitous discovery of the Jewish graveyard at Lipton, Saskatchewan, a community whose existence she'd previously been unaware of. The incident triggers an exploration both archival and personal, for information about these people, and what their lives must have been like, and the resulting work of remembrance, which makes up this book. Kaddish is the Jewish prayer for the dead, recited at the burial, during the seven days of mourning, and every year on the anniversary of the death. Every Jew knows Kaddish, it is the universal prayer. There are no more Jewish colonies, no more Jewish farmers on the prairies. Prairie Kaddish is an elegy for all that no longer exists, except through remembrance. |
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Archives asked Baron beautiful bird BLESSED blue bones branches bridge brother brought burial buried Calling Canada cemetery Centre close cold colonies Cree cross dark David dead death door dreamed earth Europe eyes farm farmer Father field forest four give grass grave houses graveyard grow hand happened heart Hebrew Hirsch honour Inspired Israel Jewish Kaddish kind knew land language leave light Lipton living looking loved Martin memoir memory mile Milman mother needed never night parents past photograph plain prairie prayer raspberries Regina remember restriction forbidding Jews River Romania roofs Saskatchewan settlers song soul sound square stands star story sukkele sweet thanks thing thousand told took tree University wanted weeks wild wind Winnipeg woods write Yiddish Yisroel