A Priceless Inheritance
Today on Tablet, a family connects through books
November 07, 2012
(Courtesy of the Author)
Today on Tablet, Malka Margolies has a moving story about rescuing her father’s library and what she learned from exploring his books.
Inside each box were books, a mere fragment of what was once my beloved father’s vast library of 7,000 books in eight languages: Hebrew, English, Yiddish, German, Italian, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. He had always claimed it was the largest private collection in Kansas City, and perhaps he was right. When did Abba, who worked seven days a week and put in brutal hours administering to his congregation of 1,600 families, have time to read so much? I asked my brother Jonathan. “Don’t you recall?” he said. “Until now, he never slept.” By this point, our beloved 90-year-old father, ravaged by illness, was sleeping most of the day.
A really great read for a cold, snowy afternoon. Or a warm, sunny one. Check it out here.
Adam Chandler was previously a staff writer at Tablet. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Slate, Esquire, New York, and elsewhere. He tweets @allmychandler.
