Donn O'Meara

Donn O'Meara (July 30, 1924 - September 8, 2004)[1] was an author, linguist and anthropologist. His most well known book, Living Jewish was published in 1972.

Donn O'Meara (c.1949)

Early life and education

Son of noted American author Walter O'Meara and Esther (née Arnold) O'Meara, Donn's mixed, Irish and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage would prove a formative aspect of his life. O'Meara grew up in Minnesota and then lived in New York City as a teen. By the mid-1940s O'Meara had become fluent in several languages, eventually learning Spanish, French, Portuguese, Catalan, Italian, German, Japanese and Hebrew.[1]

While attending Bard College, O'Meara recognized that he was Jewish due to being born of a Jewish mother. He spent the summer of 1942 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He arrived back at school in the fall able to speak Galitzianer Yiddish.[1]

Marriage and World War II

Prior to being drafted into World War II, O'Meara married a woman from Nicaragua named Cecilia Pereira. During the war worked in London, England for the OSS. O'Meara and Cecilia returned to Bard College after the war. They would parent five children together: Gabriel, Suzana, Miriam, Daniel and Dina.[1]

Professional life

O'Meara supported himself primarily through work in the advertising and public relations field in Caracas, New York City, Michigan and Rio de Janeiro.[1]

Living Jewish

While in Caracas, in 1972, O'Meara wrote Living Jewish which was published in 1978 in New York and London. For the book, O'Meara assumed the pseudonym, "Michael Asheri" explaining, "Who would buy a book like that by somebody named 'O'Meara'?"[1] The book became a seminal guide to living as a religious Jew in the 1970s. It is divided into nine major sections not including the Preface, glossary and index.

Preface Transliteration of Hebrews Words Section 1: The Jewish People 1. Who Is a Jew? Cohen, Levi and Israel 2. Ashkenazim, Sephardim and Others 3. Offshoots of the Jews 4. The Languages of the Jews Section 2: The Jewish Religion 5. One God and the Chosen People 6. What Is the Torah? Section 3: The Jewish Life Cycle 7. Birth and Names 8. Circumcision 9. Pidyon ha Ben – Redemption of the Firstborn Son 10. Bar Mitzvah 11. Engagement and Marriage 12. The Marriage Ceremony and the Jewish Concept of Marriage 13. Divorce and Chalitza 14. Menstrual Uncleanness and the Mikva Section 4: Illness, Medicine, Death, Burial and Mourning 15. Illness, Contraception, Abortion, Euthanasia and Suicide 16. Death 17. Burial 18. Mourning, Shiva, Kaddish, Yahrtzeit and Yizkor Section 5: Daily Jewish Life 19. Morning, Afternoon and Evening 20. The Jewish Home – the Mezuza 21. Kashrut – the Dietary Laws 22. The Reasons Behind the Dietary Laws 23. Sabbath 24. Jewish Clothing and Personal Appearance 25. The Books of the Jews Section 6: Prayer, Private and Communal 26. Private Prayer, Blessings and the Grace After Meals 27. Communal Prayer: the Synagogue, the Congregation and the Weekday Prayers 28. Sabbath Services in the Synagogue and the Priestly Blessing

Section 7: The Holidays Introduction: Holidays, Major and Minor The High Holidays 29. Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur 30. Sukkot 31. Hoshana Rabba, Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah 32. Passover, Sefirat Ha-Omer and Lag B'Omer 33. Shavuot The Minor Holidays 34. Chanukah 35. Purim 36. Tu B'Shvat, Rosh Chodesh and the Special Sabbaths 37. Fasts (Ta'anit) Section 8: Just for Jews 38. The Jewish Calendar 39. Eretz Israel 40. Saints and Sinners 41. The Afterlife, the Messiah and the Soul 42. The Kabbalah 43. Education and Rabbinical Ordination 44. Orthodox, Conservative and Reform 45. Conversion to Judaism 46. Apostasy 47. A Jewish Miscellany Section 9: Seen Through Jewish Eyes 48. The Gentiles 49. Enemies of the Jewish People 50. Friends of the Jews 51. Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs 52. Charity 53. Sex 54. Science and Evolution Appendices I. Suitable Names for Jewish Children II. Jewish Calendar, 5661 to 5760 (1900 to 2000 C.E.) III. Civil Dates of Jewish Holidays, 1975-1999 IV. Commonly Used Blessings in Transliteration Glossary Index

Move To Israel

In 1977, the O'Mearas moved to Israel where they settled in Petah Tikva. At that time Cecilia changed her name to "Zippora". O'Meara then began work for the Israel Military Industries Corporation until his retirement in the 1990s.[1]

In Literature

In Moose: Chapters From My Life (the posthumously published, 2013 autobiography of Academy Award winning songwriter, Robert B. Sherman) the author devotes a chapter to his time shared with his friend at Bard College. Sherman credits O'Meara with giving him the nickname, "Moose" which is also the title of the autobiography.[2]

References

1. Lubell, Harold, "Donn O'Meara", The Bardian, Spring 2009 (Online), pp. 44-45.
2. Sherman, Robert B. "Donn" in Moose: Chapters From My Life, pp. 67-74.