“Searching for Grace: A Pandemic Meditation on the Hebrew Alphabet” by Eugenia Koukounas

Sep 21, 2020 by Susan Rosenbluth

Reviewed by Susan L. Rosenbluth

Eugenia Koukounas stands before and acknowledges a lofty tradition in her new book, “Searching for Grace: A Pandemic Meditation on the Hebrew Alphabet” (Full Court Press). Written and illustrated as an attempt to find peace in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, this retelling of the story of how God decided which letter would be chosen to create the world is a compilation of traditional stories, Psalms that epitomize each of the letters, and time-honored mystical details ascribed to them.

The evocative illustrations include child-like filled-in block letters and evocative designs overflowing with artistic expression and energy. They fairly leap off the page in a panoply of motion and color, which reflect the descriptions Ms. Koukounas offers in the text.

For centuries, the rabbis and scholars of Jewish tradition have ascribed special sanctity to the twenty-two building blocks of the holy Hebrew language. Jewish veneration for the letters of the Hebrew alphabet was so fervent that it was believed they existed independently in a transcendent realm. The rabbis taught that when Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, the prophet saw God designing crowns for the individual letters.

According to Jewish tradition, all that is in and between Heaven and Earth was formed by these divine letters. While the objects may be transient, the letters that spell out their names cannot be destroyed. When the original tablets bearing the Ten Commandments were dashed to the ground by Moses and shattered, the Talmud teaches that the letters flew upwards. In the devastating martyrology read on Yom Kippur, which details the torture and murders of ten classic rabbinic giants at the hands of the Romans, all for the crime of teaching Torah, one of them, Rabbi Hananiah ben Teradyon, is wrapped in the Scroll of the Law and set on fire, wet wool applied to his chest to prolong the torment. At the height of his agony, he is asked what he sees. “The parchment is burning, but the letters are soaring on high,” he exclaims.

This is the heritage Ms. Koukounas addresses and makes her own.

The book would be a wonderful gift for anyone who finds a way to visit family or friends during the upcoming High Holiday season. Since this will probably be a year in which there are few such invitations and even fewer acceptances, think about ordering it for the family that is spending a lot of time at home together. The Midrashic text and accessible accompanying illustrations may just inspire youngsters and those who are not so young to try their hands at graphic letter designs. There are worse ways to spend time during the pandemic.