Nicanor's Gate - by Eric A Kimmel (Paperback)
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<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Book </b></p></br></br>A prosperous but simple and pious Jew of ancient Alexandria comes to the realization of why God has permitted his great wealth to accumulate.<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br><p>Set in biblical times, the story of Nicanor's Gate--one of the entrances to the Temple in Jerusalem--shows how a man's faith is important to living a happy, fulfilled life. Nicanor, a wealthy merchant from Alexandria, is thrilled when King Herod calls on him to assist in rebuilding the ruined Temple in Jerusalem. Nicanor orders massive, beautifully intricate doors to be built, especially for the Eastern Gate of the Temple, but disaster strikes while the gates are being shipped from Alexandria to Jerusalem. To escape sinking, the ship must reduce its load, and one of the doors is pushed into the sea. But a miracle happens: the heavy door surfaces, is recovered from the sea, and installed as an entrance to the Temple area.</p><p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br><br><p><em>Nicanor's Gate</em> by Eric Kimmel was first published by The Jewish Publication Society in 1979 with illustrations by Jerry Joyner (1938-2019). The undersized 7x7 inch trim had lengthy, dense text in a small font on the right side of each page along with a framed two color black and blue, difficult-to-decipher illustration on the right. It's no wonder the book hasn't circulated from my synagogue library since 1990! Fortunately, Eric Kimmel has penned a new, more accessible version of this wonderful, ancient Talmudic tale with lush, radiant full-color, full spread illustrations in earth tones, blues, and pinks by Alida Massari <em>(Under the Sabbath Lamp</em>, 2017). The simple, clear, and concise text tells the story of the wealthy merchant from Alexandria who volunteers to commission new gates for the ruined Temple in Jerusalem. But when the ship carrying Nicanor and his gates encounters a violent storm, the sailors are forced to throw one gate overboard. Nicanor is devastated when he arrives in Jerusalem and is only able to present King Herod with one gate. However, a miracle occurs when the lost gate washes ashore and is installed along with its mate at the Eastern Gate of the Temple to be known forever more as the Gate of Nicanor. A PJ Library selection, pair with other stories about the Temple such as <em>One City, Two Brothers </em>by Chris Smith (2007) and <em>The World Needs Beautiful Things</em> by Leah Rachel Berkowitz (2018), or use as a precursor to the Hanukkah story and a way to discuss miracles. -- <em>Rachel Kamin, Sydney Taylor Shmooze Blog</em></p>-- "Blog" (10/6/2020 12:00:00 AM)<br><br><p>A Talmudic story of a wealthy man who commissioned a famous gate for the second temple in Jerusalem is brought to life with beautiful new illustrations. Nicanor is a wealthy man, unhappy that the temple in Jerusalem is in disrepair, and then delighted when King Herod requests contributions to rebuild it. Nicanor commissions a beautifully wrought set of doors. Once they are completed, he sets sail to deliver them; but as they draw close, a storm kicks up, forcing the crew to push one of the heavy doors overboard. They are about to do the same to the second door when Nicanor throws himself upon it. The storm ceases, the boat docks, and the remaining door is unloaded. Nicanor is bereft until the lost door, despite its weight, washes ashore. The text is concise and clear, while the illustrations have a stylized, slightly still feel reminiscent of ancient art. Their textured backgrounds seem painted on wood, and the colors are in primarily earth tones, blues, and pinks. The storm is depicted in dark blues with curly textured waves that seem to rise up off the page. The scenes provide dramatic contrast for the straightforward text, clearly accessible to young readers. </p><p> VERDICT Whether as folktale, Talmudic retelling, or a preschool course in miracles, this book will find a home in many school and public collections. -- <em>Amy Lilien-Harper, Wilton Lib., CT, SLJ</em></p>-- "Journal" (7/1/2020 12:00:00 AM)<br><br><p>Anyone looking for a definition of "miracle" could look to this picture book. The miracle Nicanor witnesses couldn't be more straightforward. He's hired the finest artisans to build a gate for the Temple in Jerusalem, two colossal doors made of metal. But as soon as they're placed on a transport ship, a storm begins. It sinks one of the doors--and very nearly the ship--to the bottom of the sea. But just as the precious cargo seems to be lost, the law of gravity appears to reverse itself, and the door is suddenly floating on top of the water. It would be difficult to find a clearer example of deus ex machina. But if the plot is unsurprising (at least to people who believe in miracles), the story still manages to convey a sense of wonder. This is due largely to Massari's illustrations. The text describes the doors: 'cast from Corninthian gold, a rare mixture of copper, gold, and silver that gleamed like the sun.' The colors in her pictures are so rich that the metal really does look like gold. (The characters' skin tones are equally rich and varied shades of brown.) The marvels also contrast beautifully with the bleakness of the story. When hope seems lost, one character responds with both faith and resignation: 'We do what we can. The rest is in God's hands.' (This book was reviewed digitally with 9.75-by-20.5-inch double-page spreads viewed at 83% of actual size.) This story will take away, and immediately restore, readers' belief in miracles. -- <em>Kirkus Reviews</em></p>-- "Journal" (6/9/2020 12:00:00 AM)<br><br><p>Not-ed sto-ry-teller Eric Kim-mel's beau-ti-ful folk-tale, Nicanor's Gate, is based on the ancient Jew-ish his-to-ry recount-ed in the Mish-nah and has been reis-sued in a beau-ti-ful edi-tion with all new art. It tells the sto-ry of King Herod who, wish-ing to ren-o-vate and beau-ti-fy the Tem-ple in Jerusalem, requests con-tri-bu-tions from arti-sans far and wide, but only those who will use the finest mate-ri-als and pay metic-u-lous atten-tion to detail. In response to this call, wealthy Nicanor of Alexan-dria decides that this is his oppor-tu-ni-ty to use his boun-ti-ful resources to par-tic-i-pate in a wor-thy project. He knows he can craft some-thing mag-nif-i-cent and there-by play a role in this impor-tant endeavor. Nicanor fash-ions two gates, made of the finest Corinthi-an gold, to be used for the Tem-ple's east-ern entrance. When the spec-tac-u-lar gates are final-ly com-plet-ed, he joy-ful-ly pre-pares to send them on to Jerusalem to enhance the new-ly ren-o-vat-ed Tem-ple and add to its glo-ry. But one prob-lem faces him as he attempts to achieve this goal; the gates are too heavy to trans-port such a long dis-tance. He fash-ions spe-cial wag-ons strong enough to bear the weight of the gates and con-veys them to the har-bor where they are loaded onto a ship set-ting sail for the Holy Land. Nicanor decides to accom-pa-ny his gates on the jour-ney, plan-ning to stay in Jerusalem and reside there per-ma-nent-ly. When a fierce storm aris-es, the fright-ened sailors, hop-ing to light-en the ship's load and pre-vent it from cap-siz-ing, toss one of the mas-sive gates over-board. Nicanor, hop-ing to pre-vent the remain-ing gate from meet-ing the same fate, throws him-self across the gate to pro-tect it. </p><p> When the ship docks and the gate is unloaded, Herod admires its beau-ty but Nicanor can-not be con-soled for the loss of its mate. To his amaze-ment, the sub-merged gate ris-es from the sea and floats toward shore. Nicanor's Gates, as they will be for-ev-er known, can now be installed at the Tem-ple reflect-ing its hon-or and glory. </p> <p> A per-fect read-aloud, there is much mate-r-i-al to spark dis-cus-sion with-in this sim-ple tale includ-ing the val-ue of dili-gent work and its rewards, the role of cre-ativ-i-ty, and Nicanor's faith in God. The lyri-cal text with its gen-tle rhythm is evoca-tive of allur-ing tales of long ago. Illus-tra-tor Ali-da Mas-sar-i's lush, ele-gant art with its jew-el tones and gra-cious lines trans-ports the read-er back to ancient times and far away set-tings. Her atten-tion to detail echoes Nicanor's artistry in the craft-ing of his leg-endary gates. This superb sto-ry is wor-thy of being read, shared, and reread often. -- <em>Michal Hoschander Malen, Jewish Book Council</em></p>-- "Website" (11/9/2020 12:00:00 AM)<br>
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