Edited by Roger Bennett
Fifty-four writers and artists grapple with the Torah and the 54 portions read during the year. In an eclectic array of forms - from stories, poems, memoirs, scripts, and plays to a graphic novel and even an architect's rendering - these entries bring new meaning to the Torah, its value, and its place in the life of anyone interested in Jewish culture and identity. Read Damon Lindelof, creator of Lost, writing about Abraham's decision to sacrifice his son - as Abraham is observed by psychiatrists after the fact. Or Sloane Crosley, imagining Pharoah's neurotic fury as he researches "boils," "lice," and "plague of frogs" on WebMD.
The first thing of interest about this book I want to say is that it cost me all of twenty-five cents. Yeah...the library was having a sale (four books for a dollar) when I was picking up the first season of Happy Days I had on hold, and this looked interesting. And it is! The second thing of interest is that all 54 of the writers have a Jewish heritage, but I'm pretty sure that only a few of them actually have a Jewish faith. From the editor's introduction: "The conversation forced the group to confront a number of questions, most glaringly, how long it had been since they had last read a biblical text. The majority had stumbled through the Tibetan Book of the Dead, The Prophet, or Siddhartha in their college years, but if they retained any sense of the Bible, it was typically a vague memory, forged in youth, of crudely constructed, sanitized tales badly told - a stark contrast to the nuanced narrative they now grappled with."
That being said, I gained quite a bit of insight, both theological and sociological, by reading this collection. Feel free to borrow it.
First line: Every book has a founding story.
Page 56, Line 5: But he should not have worried.
Last line: Now I imagine they are engrossed as Jacob's vengeance-seeking sons brutally massacre men who had raped their sister, or marveling when Bezalel is miraculously able to procure the dolphin skins necessary to complete the Tabernacle in the middle of the wilderness, or stunned as the earth opens up to swallow the leaders of Korah's rebellion whole: realities that are even more chaotic, complicated, and engrossing than the most colorful rush-hour subway car in New York City could possibly be.
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