Theatre Review
"The Always Prayer Shawl"
Sheldon Oberman
MTC Warehouse Theatre
"Generation Wrap", "Timely play highlights Jewish identity, tolerance and
family relationships"
Review by Riva Harrison Winnipeg Sun, March 9, 1995
The Always Prayer Shawl isn't just a story about the handing down of Jewish
traditions from a grandfather to his grandson, it's also about learning
to tolerate those who are different.
And with the events of recent weeks - anti-Semitic slogans were sprayed
on the walls of Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate - the timing of the play couldn't
have been better.
'Tolerance Is central'
"The whole issue of tolerance is central to the play. I want people to
have an understanding of not only Jews, but of older people as well," says
Winnipeg playwright Sheldon Oberman, who also teaches English at Joseph
Wolinsky.
"When they say 'Die Jews,' that means me," the 45-year-old says of the
hateful graffiti. "That means my kids. It's a very direct statement."
The Always Prayer Shawl, presented by Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, is about
Adam, his grandfather and the prayer shawl that transcends generations.
The tale snakes through the streets of Winnipeg's North End.
'Very Winnipeg'
"We see him (Adam) working at Oscar's Delicatessen, we see him living through
the depression. It's very Winnipeg, says Oberman, whose children's book,
The Always Prayer Shawl, has won several awards; most recently the 1994
Sidney Taylor Award for outstanding picture book.
Oberman says he wrote the story after finding his own grandfather's
prayer shawl while preparing for his son's bar mitzvah. Oberman had stuffed
the shawl away decades ago because it was a symbol of Jewish traditions
he thought were authoritarian and rigid.
"At that moment, it inspired me to tell my son the story of my grandfather
and the always prayer shawl."
Oberman's book, in its fourth printing, hit the shelves one year ago.
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