Book Groups

The Hare With Amber Eyes

 by Edmund DeWaal

In this beautifully written book, DeWaal, a British ceramicist, is given a family heirloom of 264 netsuke, small, carved figures in ivory or wood, from his uncle. He decides to use the gift as a key to unlock his family’s rich history. As it turns out, he is a descendant of the Ephrussi family, a wealthy European clan of comparable status and wealth to the Rothschilds, with branches in Paris and Vienna. What unfolds is the story of a remarkable family and a tumultuous century. What remains of this great family, in the end, vast wealth, palatial homes and immense and impressive art collection notwithstanding, are the tiny netsuke, each smaller than an inch. This is a saga of wealth, art, family, exile, and identity.

I will speak about it on the second day of Rosh Hashanah and, as has been my practice of late, I will deliver a sermon that will be comprehensible and meaningful whether or not you have read the book. 

Rabbi Shapiro