It's an oddity really, but I have written quite a number of "Jewish" stories through the years. Most of these have struck a chord or two with editors (and a few published).
One of my wittiest (if I do say so myself) was a story about a priest who goes to a rabbi, rather than his superior, to make his personal confession. I really had to work on this one (I titled it: "The Final Confession of Father John"). One Jewish editor wrote me: "This would never happen . . . a priest confessing to a rabbi? I guess that's why I like it so much."
My best Jewish story, by far, is "Steiner the Violinist". I've worked on this story for over twenty years and have continued to polish it to a high-gloss. It's a fantastic tale, and I'm not giving it away (someone has to buy it, preferably for a lot of cash!). Here, a hard-working musician and family man labors in a butcher shop with a wise-cracking Jewish boss, but continues to dream of one day playing in the symphony. I re-read this story again this week, and it's a good'n. It's got everything a great story should have . . . chutzpah, kosher, existential angst, Jewish culture and inflection, and movement in plot and pace . . . ANYBODY OUT THERE WANNA BUY IT??
Of course, one of the reasons I've written so much about Jews through the years is because I have read THE JEWISH BOOK . . . The Bible. One can't beat the stories in Genesis or St. John, or Acts of the Apostles. The themes here are timeless, ageless. And they are revisited over and over again by writers.
That's why I always tell young literature majors: If you want to understand literature (even modern day) better become intimately familiar with the Bible . . . it's still the one guide that all writers, even heathens, continue to explore.
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