Transmitting Ashkenaz

What constitutes successful literary transmission of the culture and spirit of pre-Shoah Ashkenaz? This article suggests four criteria. Such works: 1) must not contradict what was possible in Jewish life in Ashkenaz, even if the work itself employs magical realism or surrealism; 2) must understand and accept the central role of time in Jewish life—the Jewish calendar, life-cycle events, and history itself, even if it may deny the movement of history; 3) must be aware of the values and customs that underlay Jewish life in Ashkenaz, even if it flouts them; 4) must recognize the clash of cultures within Ashkenaz, even if that clash is not manifested in the work itself.