A review by judyward
Friday the Rabbi Slept Late by Harry Kemelman

3.0

This is the first book in the Rabbi David Small series. Rabbi Small is in his first year as rabbi at the Temple in Barnard Crossing, located about 30 minutes from Boston, and, quite frankly, his congregation is unsure about his suitability. He is a Talmud scholar which gives him an ability to question and interpret modern situations according to its principles, but he is also young, unkempt, and he has an alarming tendency to say what he thinks in almost every situation. A young woman is murdered on the grounds of the Temple and the rabbi becomes a friend of the Chief of Police and a chief suspect at the same time. The most interesting aspects of the book for me were the descriptions of the internal politics within the Temple's congregation--sounded so familiar to this Episcopalian--and the rabbi's explanation to several Gentiles about the different functions and responsibilities of Catholic priests, Protestant ministers, and Jewish rabbis.