Caf Shira: A Novel (Judaic Traditions in Literature, Music, and Art)

New to Jerusalem and to adulthood, Rutha serves Caf� Shira's devoted customers with a quiet compassion and a sensitive gaze, collecting their stories and absorbing them at her peril. Avigdor, the melancholy and somewhat weary caf� owner, philosophizes about love as he attends to the needs of his patrons while ignoring his own. Christian, a young religious pilgrim, has come to Jerusalem to find God but stumbles upon a much different revelation. These characters form the heart of this wry, often poignant novel narrated through a series of vignettes. They are joined by a colorful cast of characters who frequent the literary caf�--long-married couples, young lovers, an eccentric poet, and a traumatized veteran--all finding refuge and occasionally wisdom among their motley urban community.

Closely based on Ehrlich's own experiences over the twenty-five years he devoted to running a caf� that became an important Jerusalem cultural venue and landmark, Caf� Shira is a work of disarming tenderness and bittersweet love.