Joyful Song: A Naming Story
Written by Lesléa Newman and Illustrated by Susan Gal
May 7, 2024, Levine Querido
Review by E. Broderick
Naming a character is a tricky piece of work. Sometimes the name magically reveals itself to me along with the character. Like most magic, this is rare. The rest of the time, I spend days flipping between different names, calling the character INSERT NAME in the manuscript, or pointing randomly to a phone book. In one memorable scenario, I asked to use a name from my critique partner’s childhood imagination. She was kind of shocked when this choice survived the drafting, editing, and submitting process, but I had grown rather attached to the name at that point (probably because it reminded me of her and she is awesome). In Joyful Song, written by Lesléa Newman and illustrated by Susan Gal, the main character faces a similar conundrum. Only INSERT NAME isn’t really an option, because little Zachary is on his way to the Synagogue with his two mothers to name his baby sister.
Turns out, the name has already been chosen, but as is tradition in many Jewish communities, it is not be used until it is officially bestowed before the congregation and the Torah in Synagogue. This leads to some hilarity as the family meets various community members along the way who inquire after the baby. To prevent Zachary from accidentally spilling the beans, his mothers interrupt him with cute nicknames for the baby. The neighbors are invited to join the ceremony, forming a bit of a procession, and on the way back home there is a fun repetition as they are dropped off in reverse order.
I especially enjoyed the melding of old tradition with new concepts found in the book. Although specific naming traditions vary across communities, many do have the custom not to use the name until it is officially bestowed in Synagogue. Indeed, there is some lore that indicates the giving of a name is the last vestige of prophecy left to us after the destruction of the temple. In naming a child, you partially determine or foretell their future. God speaks through the namer.
The choice to make the baby in the book assigned female at birth allows Newman to showcase some newer aspects of Jewish tradition. The naming of those assigned male at birth has always been a bit of a hoopla, because it occurs at the circumcision which is a large ritual followed by a feast. Girls, on the other hand, were named in front of the Torah ark on the days it was routinely taken out for the standard weekly readings. There were some special songs, I especially enjoy the sephardic one that references the Yonah – the dove, but it was not generally associated with a large communal gathering or party. It was a regular day of services at Synagogue. Each child has always been viewed as a gift, but these days people want to show that by also having a large celebration for a baby girl – just as large as her brother would have gotten. That celebration has taken different forms in different communities, with the baby girl naming ceremony becoming more and more popular.
Also notable are the guests at this event. Although the book does not specify, it can be inferred that many of the neighbors that inquire after the baby and come for the naming ceremony are not Jewish. Or at the very least, they are not from the same congregation and therefore not familiar with the ceremony and custom not to use the baby’s name until it is officially given. This is interesting on two levels – the first being that the family feels comfortable and friendly towards these people to the point where they invite them along. The second being that the neighbors actually accept that invitation and agree that the child is a blessing. This may seem fairly routine and normal, but it was not so long ago that every Jewish baby was thought of as a scourge upon the Earth by their non-Jewish neighbors, a thing to be destroyed and loathed, not a living, breathing, manifestation of joy. The model of community openness and mutual respect and understanding displayed here means so much to me right now, and I hope the spirit in which it was written can survive.
I don’t review picture books that often, but this year to accommodate reader feedback we are making a huge push to increase offerings across all genres on the website (my apologies to the horror fans, I struggle the most with that one). It appears I am not as much of a novice as I thought though, because the moment Joyful Song hit my hands I immediately recognized the illustrations. They were so full of vibrancy, diversity, and just this feeling of what modern Judaism encapsulates for me that I had to look up the illustrator and see if I was correct. Indeed I was! Susan Gal has also illustrated my personal favorite picture book, (also written by Newman! what a dream team!), Here is the World, which for a long time was one of the few picture books up on BookishlyJewish because of how moved I was by those illustrations. It filled me with such a great sense of joy to encounter her illustrations again.
Joyful Song is a sweet story, not just for those welcoming a new child into their home, but for anyone looking to see a community practice equality and openness. It is a book of optimism, and isn’t that the perfect feeling with which each new child should be welcomed? I won’t ruin the story by revealing the name, but let’s just say whoever chose it did an excellent job. No scouring through a phone book needed.
BookishlyJewish received an arc of this book from the publisher after they filled out our Suggest a Book Form.