Peter Decker

Last updated
Peter Decker
First appearanceThe Ritual Bath
Created by Faye Kellerman
In-universe information
NicknamesLoo, Rabbi, Old Man
GenderMale
OccupationLAPD Lieutenant
SpouseJan Decker (first wife)
Rina Lazarus (second wife)
Cindy Decker (daughter by first marriage)
Jacob Lazarus (step-son)
Samuel Lazarus (step-son)
Hannah Decker (daughter by second marriage)
NationalityAmerican

Peter Decker is a fictional character in a series of mystery novels by Faye Kellerman. [1] A lieutenant in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), Decker is assisted in solving crimes by his Orthodox Jewish wife Rina Lazarus.

When he meets Rina, a young widow, during an investigation at a yeshiva in The Ritual Bath, he is compelled to explore the religion for himself, and eventually became a religiously observant Orthodox Jew. Decker, though raised Baptist by his adoptive parents in Florida, discovers as an adult that his birth parents were Jewish, which makes him Jewish under traditional Jewish law, as well. All the books in the series are rooted in, or at least include, Jewish themes. Aside from "Peter" - a name with obvious Christian origin and connotations - he has a Jewish name, "Akiva" - the name of a famous ancient Jewish sage. To his police colleagues, he remains "Peter", "Loo", "Rabbi", or "Old Man", but at moments of special intimacy and tenderness, Rina calls him "Akivale". At moments of anger and confrontation, though, his stepsons, Rina's children, sometimes call him "Peter".

Major characters in the books include Rina's two sons by her late husband, Jacob and Samuel Lazarus; Cindy Decker, Peter's daughter from his first marriage; Rina and Peter's daughter Hannah Decker; and Peter's police partner Detective Marge Dunn. Cindy Decker, a teenager in the earliest books, eventually follows her father into the police force, and is the main character of two of the later books, Stalker and Street Dreams.

Decker's complicated background makes for continuing complications in his present. For example, the plot of Stone Kiss is launched by a call from his Jewish half-brother Jonathan - a rabbi in New York, with whom Decker shares a biological mother, but whom he met only in adulthood; the plot later also involves his Christian step-brother Randy, a policeman like himself residing in Florida. [1] Unsurprisingly, Decker feels more comfortable with Randy - with whom he shares childhood experiences, though no biological relation.

Novels in the series

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orthodox Judaism</span> Observent and/or practicing branches of Judaism

Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on Mount Sinai and faithfully transmitted ever since.

A rabbi is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Rabbinic Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as semikha—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of the rabbi developed in the Pharisaic and Talmudic eras, when learned teachers assembled to codify Judaism's written and oral laws. The title "rabbi" was first used in the first century CE. In more recent centuries, the duties of a rabbi became increasingly influenced by the duties of the Protestant Christian minister, hence the title "pulpit rabbis", and in 19th-century Germany and the United States rabbinic activities including sermons, pastoral counseling, and representing the community to the outside, all increased in importance.

<i>Bar</i> and <i>bat mitzvah</i> Jewish coming of age rituals

A bar mitzvah (masc.) or bat mitzvah (fem.) is a coming-of-age ritual in Judaism. According to Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age, they are said to "become" b'nai mitzvah, at which point they begin to be held accountable for their own actions. Traditionally, the father of a bar or bat mitzvah offers thanks to God that he is no longer punished for his child's sins.

Faye Marder Kellerman is an American writer of mystery novels, in particular the "Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus" series, as well as three nonseries books, The Quality of Mercy, Moon Music, and Straight into Darkness.

Jonathan Seth Kellerman is an American novelist, psychologist, and Edgar- and Anthony Award–winning author best known for his popular mystery novels featuring the character Alex Delaware, a child psychologist who consults for the Los Angeles Police Department.

<i>Kippah</i> Skullcap traditionally worn by Jewish men to cover the head

A kippah, yarmulke, yamaka, bullcap, or koppel is a brimless cap, usually made of cloth, traditionally worn by Jewish males to fulfill the customary requirement that the head be covered. It is worn by all men in Orthodox Jewish communities during prayers and by most Orthodox Jewish men at all other times. Among non-Orthodox Jewish communities, some who wear them do so at all times, while others wear them only during prayer, while attending a synagogue, or in other ceremonies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of crime fiction</span>

Crime fiction is a typically 19th-, 20th- and 21st-century genre, dominated by British and American writers. This article explores its historical development as a genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conversion to Judaism</span> Religious conversion of non-Jews

Conversion to Judaism is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. The procedure and requirements for conversion depend on the sponsoring denomination. Furthermore, a conversion done in accordance with one Jewish denomination is not a guarantee of recognition by another denomination. Normally, though not always, the conversions performed by more stringent denominations are recognized by less stringent ones, but not the other way around. A formal conversion is also sometimes undertaken by individuals whose Jewish ancestry is questioned or uncertain, even if they were raised Jewish, but may not actually be considered Jews according to traditional Jewish law.

In Judaism, the korban, also spelled qorban or corban, is any of a variety of sacrificial offerings described and commanded in the Torah. The plural form is korbanot, korbanoth, or korbanos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob Joseph</span> American rabbi (1840–1902)

Jacob Joseph served as chief rabbi of New York City's Association of American Orthodox Hebrew Congregations, a federation of Eastern European Jewish synagogues, from 1888 until his death in 1902. Born in Krozhe, a province of Kovno, he studied in the Nevyozer Kloiz under Rabbi Yisrael Salanter and in the Volozhin yeshiva under the Netziv. In Volozhin, he was known as "Rav Yaakov Charif" because of his sharp mind.

Bernard "Barry" Freundel is an American former rabbi. The leader of Kesher Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C. from 1989 until 2014, Freundel was regarded as "a brilliant scholar," a "profound" orator and an authority in several areas of halakha, including eruvim, which he assisted in constructing in a number of cities, including Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert M. Beren Academy</span>

Robert M. Beren Academy is a private Modern Orthodox Jewish primary and secondary school at 11333 Cliffwood Drive in Houston, Texas, United States.

Rina Lazarus is a fictional character in a series of mystery novels by Faye Kellerman.

Cindy Decker is a fictional character in a series of mystery novels by Faye Kellerman. She is the daughter of the protagonist, Peter Decker, a Los Angeles police lieutenant, by his first marriage. While Cindy and her mother Jan are portrayed as Jewish, they are not as religiously observant as Peter's second wife Rina Lazarus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Raskin</span> American religious leader and rabbi

Aaron L. Raskin is an American Chabad Lubavitch rabbi and writer. He serves as spiritual leader of Congregation B'nai Avraham, an Orthodox synagogue in Brooklyn Heights, New York, and dean of Brooklyn Heights Jewish Academy.

<i>Srugim</i> Israeli television series

Srugim is an Israeli television drama which originally aired on Yes TV between 2008 and 2012. It was directed by Eliezer "Laizy" Shapiro, who co-created it with Havvah Deevon. The series depicted the lives of five Orthodox Jewish single men and women in their 30s who reside in Jerusalem. The title is a reference to the crocheted skullcaps worn by men of that segment of Israeli society. Srugim, which dealt with controversial issues in the Orthodox Jewish society in Israel, caused a public uproar within that sector.

Sacred and Profane is a 1987 novel by Faye Kellerman. It is second in the Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus series, a Fawcett Crest book published by Ballantine Books.

<i>Milk and Honey</i> (Kellerman novel) 1990 novel by Faye Kellerman

Milk and Honey is a 1990 novel by Faye Kellerman, published by William Morrow and Company as part of the Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus series. It takes place about 18 months after Sacred and Profane, when Decker is 41, in Los Angeles, in the Foothill Division of the LAPD.

Shaarey Tphiloh is a Modern Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 400 Deering Avenue, in Portland, Maine, in the United States. The congregation claims it is the oldest continuously operating synagogue in Portland. The name of the synagogue literally means "Gates of Prayer" in Hebrew.

The response of the Haredi Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York City, to allegations of sexual abuse against its spiritual leaders has drawn scrutiny. When teachers, rabbis, and other leaders have been accused of sexual abuse, authorities in the Haredi community have often failed to report offenses to Brooklyn police, intimidated witnesses, and encouraged shunning against victims and those members of the community who speak out against cases of abuse.

References

  1. 1 2 "STONE KISS: A Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus Novel by Faye Kellerman". www.publishersweekly.com. 1 July 2002. Retrieved 2023-05-09.