Wedding at the Graveyard
And Other Tales of the Jewish Fantastical
Nilton Bonder
Paperback
ISBN 9781958972687
$19.95 US
eBook available
April 1, 2025
For four decades Rabbi Bonder was immersed in spirituality and sought out by people who needed comfort. He has now transformed some of these cases into fiction.
A Romanian woman, resident of Copacabana, wants to marry her dead fiancé. The discovery of a manuscript from the Inquisition, written to defame a woman, has the power to awaken lust and perversion in whomever reads it. A boy who scares his parents with paranormal powers prepares for his bar mitzvah.
These are the subjects of Nilton Bonder’s imagination in this collection of short stories. He writes in the tradition of the best of Isaac Bashevis Singer.
Each story comes from a place bordering reality with the unusual and inexplicable, revealing the little that’s required to transform the ordinary into extraordinary. With starting points from real situations (including the author himself as a young man, seriously bored in the house of Abraham Joshua Heschel), each story moves into another reality.
Previously published in Portuguese.
Nilton Bonder was trained and ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. He lectures regularly in the United States. Born in Brazil, he’s a best-selling author of twenty-nine books in Latin America, leads one of Brazil’s most influential Jewish congregations, and is active in civil rights and ecological causes. Some of his books have been translated in Europe and Asia and twelve of them in the U.S., including The Kabbalah of Money and The Kabbalah of Food, published by Shambhala. He’s led workshops for corporations such as IBM and Globo Network Television, and delivered lectures at Boston University, New York Central Library, American Academy of Psychoanalysis, The Open Center, and Omega Institute. He lives in Rio de Janeiro and New York City.
“Rabbi Nilton Bonder summarizes his view on the paranormal with the old Castilian expression, ‘I don’t believe in brujas [witches], but they are there, they are.’” —Pedro Arbex, Brazil Journal
“There are those who claim to see dead people, those who claim to speak to the afterlife, those who claim to have access to memories of supposed past lives, and even those who swear to be able to move objects with the power of their mind. Charlatans aside, a portion of the phenomena still remains without an explanation that is independent of some level of faith. And it was in this territory of the incredible-fantastic-extraordinary that Rabbi Nilton Bonder focused on telling the stories of his 29th book.” —Ronald Villardo, O Globo
“With charm, precision, and humor, Wedding at the Graveyard offers a fascinating perspective on unexpected events—many of which blur the line between real and fantastical—that have shaped Rabbi Nilton Bonder’s worldview. Original and thought-provoking, Bonder’s prose sparkles with insight and surprise.” —Georgia Hunter, New York Times Bestselling author of We Were the Lucky Ones
“In Wedding at the Graveyard, Rabbi Nilton Bonder presents a lucid and rich encounter of paranormal situations through a range of captivating and unforgettable short stories, including his own offering, that are sure to haunt and enchant the reader.” —Rabbi Marc Schneier, Hampton Synagogue; author of Sons of Abraham, with a foreword by President Bill Clinton
“Drawing on his extensive experience as a student of Jewish wisdom and his role as a spiritual teacher and counselor, Rabbi Nilton Bonder shares his encounters with the mysterious and inexplicable—events that defy logic, embrace paradox, and challenge our understanding of what’s possible. The fascinating and often humorous stories he shares invite us to consider that reality extends beyond what meets the eye, and suggest there is a hidden dimension. Through our encounters with these mysteries, we can open doors to greater spiritual awareness and discover a richer, deeper experience of life itself.” —Rabbi J. Rolando Matalon, B’nai Jeshurun, New York City
