Living a Year of Kaddish: A Memoir Book

I liked the idea of this memoir -- a narrative of Goldman's experience saying kaddish every day for the mourning period after his father's death -- but the execution didn't live up to the promise.

I was also annoyed at him for his gender politics. He and his family belong to an Orthodox shul, even though his wife prays with an egalitarian congregation. Then, when his daughter has her bat mitzvah -- not at the shul, which of course doesn't allow women to chant Torah or lead services -- she has to move over to the women's side, which they're both upset about. He goes to talk with the rabbi about potential innovations that would allow women more participation in the service, and he and his daughter sit as close to each other as possible on different sides of the mechitza. "Emma lost interest and started spending less and less time in the sanctuary (although she still came to hang out with her friends in the social hall). To be truthful, I also missed sitting near my friends. After a few weeks I moved back to my old seat. Many of the 'innovations' that Rabbi Berman and I talked about were soon forgotten" (168). And that's the last we hear of that! Obviously Goldman is not to be blamed for the gender politics of Jewish Orthodox congregations, but he styles himself as a more open, progressive sort of Orthodox man; he occasionally mentions gender but doesn't seem particularly exercised about it, which does not actually make him a progressive! Indeed, his kaddish practice is only made possible by the fact that his wife takes over all morning responsibilities for their children, which he seems to take as his due. It really irritated me.

However, despite that serious flaw, it was very readable.