The Charlotte Jewish News - August 2001 - Page 9 Speizman Jewish Library Recommended Reading A Walking Tour of the Holy Texts Walking the Bible, by Bruce Feiler, William Morrow, New York,2001 Review by Rabbi Jessica Spitalnic, Temple Beth El If you have ever traveled to Israel with a tour group, you know that your tour guide will make quite a dramatic introduction to the group’s very first visit to the Kotel, the Western Wall. My hus band, who for several summers guided Reform Jewish teenagers for NFTY (North American Federation of Temple Youth) in Israel, would lead the group on a particularly dramatic build-up to their first visit to the Western Wall. His shtick would include a dramatic retelling of Jewish histo ry that had led to this exciting moment, inspirational selections about the Western Wall, the shar ing by the teenagers, most visiting Israel for the first time in their lives, of the significance of this moment and the writing of notes to place in the cracks of the Wall. At the height of suspense before one such visit to the Wall, a loud voice yelled from the back of his group, “Could you cut the chit chat and get me to the Kotel?” It is that tone of anxiousness that pervades Bruce Feiler’s new book. Walking the Bible. Feiler, a writer on secular topics like clowning and country music, by trade, felt that since he had left his Savannah home and childhood synagogue he had grown up at, he was more and more removed from his religious identity. After doing much research and networking, Feiler realized what he wanted to attempt to do. Feiler wanted to lit erally, as the book’s title suggest, walk the Bible. Connecting with the Israeli archeologist Avner Goren, the two of them set out to explore both the physical and spir itual journey laid out in the Five Books of Moses, the Torah. Torah is about cycles. We read through the words of Torah over the course of the Jewish year and come to contemplate these works from different perspectives througout our lives. As a young child, Torah is drama with excit ing stories of adventure. As a bar or bat mitzvah, Torah becomes the focus of a ceremony that will pre pare the thirteen year old for his or her role as an adult in the Jewish community. For adults, words of Torah can be. an affirmation of faith, a guideline for living and a continued inspiration for our belief in God. But what Feiler does with Torah in Walking the Bible is special. He takes Torah and slows it down. He forces him self and the reader to enter the minds of the biblical characters, to walk in the steps that they walked in and to be truly present in that relationship between God and humankind that Torah shows us. And boy, does he do this in an engaging way. Feiler rushes breathlessly from one biblical location to another, all the time updating us on where the site connects us to the Torah text. A visit to the Dead Sea becomes at the same time a geology lesson on the salt formations that have come to be known as “Lot’s wife” and a review of the destruction of Sodom. A visit to the monastery at St. Catherine’s in the Sinai, the considered site of the burning bush, becomes a quirky image as Feiler remarks on the bush and the fire extinguisher only a few feet away. Feiler and Goren also come across as a traveling United Nations. Goren, who was chief archeologist of the Sinai when Israel controlled that region, had made many lasting friendships and as the two men trace the bibli cal path they are warmly hosted by Israelis, Arabs and Christians alike, often in remote areas of the Middle East. Feiler spends much of the books trying to get a glimpse of the souls of those he encounters along the journey, but ultimately, it is his own spiritual life that he finds nurtured. As he puts it, he comes to feel that, “It’s as if the godliness of the land and the godliness of my being had fused.” Walking the Bible serves as a wonderful review of the biblical stories, an interesting resource on the field of bible studies and ulti mately, when the book is finished, a great reason to once again read the original. O Library Summer Hours Mondays and Thursdays: 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM and 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM Tuesdays: Closed Wednesdays and Fridays: 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM From the Librarian’s Desk By Amalia Warshenbrot, Librarian, Speizman Jewish Library A Note From Amalia and Cynthia The Speizman Jewish Library has a number of books which can enhance your knowledge of the Bible and Biblical history and archaeology. One of our newest titles is The Bible Unearthed : Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of the Sacred Texts by Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silberman. Rabbi Spitalnic discussed this year King David: the Real Life of the Man Who Ruled Israel by Jonathan Kirsch. The following is a small sample of books on the Bible and Biblical history: The Zealots of Masada, Story of a Dig by Moshe Pearlman Archeology of the Bible by Magnus Magnusson Oxford Bible Atlas by Herbert May Student’s Atlas of the Bible pub lished in Israel Atlas of Bible Lands by Harry Frank Bible Lands by Jonathan Tubb The Bible as History: Confirmation of the Book of Books by Werner Keller Noah’s Flood: the New Scientific Discoveries About the Event that Changed History by William Ryan and Walter Pitman These are just a few of the titles we have in our library. During the last of these hot summer days, come by the library, pick out a book, and take it home. Stretch out in your favorite chair, have a tall cold glass of tea by your side, and expand your horizons. ^ and your spouse have shared everything. Now share the care. 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WORLDWIDE SPONSOR 704-643-0143 John Hancock Life Insurance Company, Bo.sion, MA 02117 TURN HEADS We acknowledge the following donations to the Speizman Jewish Library: BECKY SHULIMSON MEMORIAL CHILDRENS LIBRARY FUND In memory of Blanche Jaffa by Meddie Joffe and Larry Gerber. In memory of the mother of Mary Gordan by Sue and Mike Littauer and Philip Brodsky, Marilee and Joseph Kodsi. In memory of Arthur Frank by Trudy Packard. JcWtA In honor of Patti Weisman by Bob Brodsky. SPEIZMAN LIBRARY FUND In memory of Ida Wax by Cheri and Phil Wolff, Laurie and Andrew, Kelly and Josh. In appreciation of Linda Hindel from Kathryn Nystrom. TULMAN LIBRARY FUND In honor of the graduation of Bea Gibbs by Elkie Tulman. THE CHERYL KATZ MEMO RIAL TRIBUTE FUND In memory of the father of Jack Lash by Ellie and Ron Katz, Goldie and Ben Weinrib, Jane and Leon Tigler, Toby and Lewis Spitzer, Loretta and Murray Bodner, Beverly and Arthur Tirsun FRIENDS OF THE SPIEZ- MAN JEWISH LIBRARY Temple Israel 5th, 6th and Katan classes, Linda and John Babich, Tammy Seigel and Adam Bernstein, Allison Tobin Clark and Dennis Clark, Drs. Randy and Gary DeFilipp, Susan and Jeffery Edwards, Jacob Frushtick, Ruth and Alan Goldberg, Patricia and William Gorelick, Donna and James Kozlowski, Abbey Leach, Drs. Kathryn and Jay Levy Eastover: 2620 East 7th Street 704.333.9211 Stonecrest: 7808-G Rea Road (485 & Rea Road) 704.752.8030 M-F 9-7; Sat. 9-5; www.vocispa.com Poolside or beachside — make a statement this summer. Let your adventures begin at VociSpa, where you can escape, rejuvenate and settle into ttee hands of professionals trained to help you look your best from head to toe. 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