Two new books read ...

As my time for reviews shrinks, I just wanted to tell to my visitors, that two new great books are consumed and wait for their turn for reviews:

Umberto Eco's — „Prague Cemetery” — one of the most important account on mechanisms of conspiracy theory creation from the view point of its authors....

David K. Shipler — „Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land” — painfully honest and impartial description of the fundamental conflict of the Middle East....

See you later :-)

The dark side of British handling of the Palestine just after the war - a story told by Yoram Kaniuk

„Commander of the Exodus” by Yoram Kaniuk, Jewish writer and journalist is a book that shows the darker and much less known side of the immigration to Palestine of the Holocaust survivors.

It is a story of  brave Palestine-native hero — Yossi Harel, who in the course of 1947-48 brought about 20000 Shoah survivors to Palestine. There would probably be nothing strange in the story if it was not for British Navy and, more generally, British Mandate authorities to actively oppose the coming of the survivors to their land....

Kaniuk, who demonstrates the unusual talent of combining true historical account with a great story telling talent, does not seem to be anvengeful or even biased against British. He just coldly relates the episode of the complicated history o the birth of the state of Israel. This relation is, nevertheless, quite disturbing and embarrassing for the British — who verbally declared support to the Zion Cause, but did very little to help the nascent State to start its life in peace. The ships coming to Palestine from Europe were harassed and often turn back, not without fighting, to Europe. In the most dramatic stories, some Holocaust survivors were sent back to Europe and deported to the former Nazi camps!

Even calling these events „ironic” seems to be outrageous.
I have found the article that tells the true account of these events. The following picture of „Exodus 1947” ship comes from it:

„Commander of the Exodus” does not even try to explain why the events had such a turn there and at that time. The book focuses on the valour of its main hero and the brave people who believed they come to their dreamed off homeland — but were met by hostility of those in whose hands the fate of millions was endowed...

I must admit that I write this review long time after I read the book. And I write it now, because the another great book — that by Winston Churchil („The Second World War”) — sheds some light on the matters, and I will be reviewing it shortly. I will try to give my own theory in that forthcoming review....

Mother Night

The short novel "Mother Night" by Kurt Vonnegut is absolutely incredible piece of Vonnegut's writing.

It is a story of an American who went to Germany before WWII and became Nazi propagandist before and during the War. His radio addresses broadcasted by Nazis in English were meant to promote Nazi view for English speaking audience. He was also approached by US military espionage and became silent spy for US - however - almost useless and disheartened to the cause. He married German girl and was in true deep love with her.
The story begins when, after 15 years he is in Jerusalem's jail, awaiting his trial for war crimes and writes the story of his life. I will not reveal the other plot's details - trust me - they are incredible and startling....

However, the fantastic story of the novel is not its only virtue. It is also a deep reflection on, and in some sense, an exposition of Vonnegut's views on the reasons of war time atrocities.
See this:

"I have never seen a more sublime demonstration of the totalitarian mind, a mind which might be likened unto a system of gears where teeth have been filed off at random. Such a snaggle toothed thought machine, driven by a standard, or even substandard libido, whirls with the jerky, noisy, gaudy pointlessness of a cuckoo clock in hell.

The boss g-man concluded wrongly that there were no teeth on the gears in the mind of Jones. "You're completely crazy." He said. Jones wasn't completely crazy. The dismaying thing about the classic totalitarian mind is that any given gear, though mutilated, will have at it's circumference unbroken sequences of teeth that are immaculately maintained, that are exquisitely machined.

The missing teeth, of course, are simple obvious truths, truths available and comprehensible even to ten year olds, in most cases.

The willful filing off of gear teeth, the willful doing without certain obvious pieces of information. That was how (...) Rudolf Hoess, Commandant of Auschwitz, could alternate over the loudspeakers of Auschwitz great music and calls for corpse carriers-that was how Nazi Germany could sense no important differences between civilization and hydrophobia-that is the closest I can come to explaining the legions, the nations of lunatics I've seen in my time."

There is also an incredible, non naive love story and a great account of human courage to keep integrity - sometimes at the highest price - the price of life itself....

Finally - I could not stop contemplating on my, very personal, connection of the subject of my previous post to the theme of "Mother Night". That happened by chance ... well there are no more events happening just by chance...

Geraldine Brooks memoir

Geraldine Brooks is an Australian born writer and journalist. I know her writership from the "People of the Book", that I reviewed a couple of months ago.

"Foreign correspondence" is Geraldine's memoir built around the traditional letters she exchanged with her pen-pals in sixties and seventies. In the later part of her life, when she starts her journalist job and travels all over the world - she is able to visit and meet her "pals".

The book was, regret to say so, quite boring until some later chapters.

However, when she starts to describe her real life experience in Israel, the book starts to get some colour and vigor. She describes her conversion to Judaism - this part of the book is very good - just because of the deep frankness and sincerity that we can feel - no hype or false piety.

There is fantastic and objective account on Israel, based on her experince with both Jews and Arabs.

So, I must say, the second part of the book was just great and it makes the entire book worth reading !

O Jerusalem - a review and reminiscences

Some books about history and places, and their true hidden gist can be grasped only after you touch the stones, breath the air, toddle through its streets.

That was my experience about "O Jerusalem !" by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Colins.



As I wrote in the previous post, it was my second reading. However now, after two recent visits to this Holy City - the impression and impact of the book on me is much greater.

The book describes the most contested part of Jerusalem history - the time of War in 1948 - the war launched by Arabs on the news of United Nations creation of Jewish State.
It is very detailed, 600 pages book (about 18 hours of listening). And it is great experience. You get deep into the individual people emotions, but you also get very good account of the global and regional history of the time.



Authors are really very objective. They did not write only black & white adoration of Jewish heroes of the time. They write about the dark sides as well. This dark sides resonated in my heart with the words and thoughts of my orthodox Jewish friend - though not in a direct simple way....

But above all it shows how incredibly difficult time Jerusalem had between 1947 and 1967, until it was reunited as a consequence of another war started by Arab countries.

It shows how precious is every stone, every inch of its streets. It weeps over all the victims of the tragedies...

It also tells a lot of amazing and incredible stories about the Jerusalem area - about Hebron and its Kfar Etzion, about Latrun and the heavy fights for this fortress, about famous Burma road and Tomb of Salomon....



It describes in a fascinating, almost like a thriller, the stories of arm purchases for young Israel in Europe, about Golda Meir fund rising for the new born state and so many other fascinating stories.



When it comes to the mood - it has a kind of melancholic-epic character, but - in a very positive sense of the world - it reflects the feelings you have there.



I recommend the book to everybody who plans to go to Jerusalem. I promise - you will look at its stone from a different perspective....

I can't sleep in Jerusalem. If I can I always walk through its streets...

The power of music

Akin to previous post, this one, very short (I'm at work and have no time for longer), refers you to increadible article in New York Times.

The article should make us ponder how deeply true was the Inspiration Speech of Karl Paulnack ...

Maimonides Thought Revisited

More than half year ago I read "Maimonides and Medieval Jewish Philosophy" by Idit Dobbs-Weinstein. However, it is no question that everything changes in us upon life experience.
In November I was gifted to pray at Maimonides tomb in Tiberias:



I had also chance to meet a tiny part of his thoughts and writings through my orthodox friend. Then, I read parts of his teaching about Noahide Laws. All these events caused my return to the book. The value of the book lies in fact that author not only recognises Maimonides great influence on philosophy and science, but also stresses his importance for religious studies.
From the book one gets conviction that Maimonides was genius in bringing together science and religion - in such a way, that nor science nor religion looses anything from their values.Even more, Prof. Idit stresses his top importance, lasting for more than 800 years now, for both philosophy and for Judaism.

The book has also interesting thread about Maimonides intellectual dialog with 200 years earlier Rabbi Saadia (Rabbi Se`adiah ben Yosef Gaon). The dialog of admiration, but also, on the level of philosophical debate - the dialog of disagreement with his philosophy which was close to Kalam philosophy.

The another interesting part is the analysis of Maimonides concept of primary matter.Once you read that, and you know a bit of modern physics - you wonder - how close were this concept (in their spirit & logic) to what we see in modern physics....

Of course, the book is more inclined to analysis of famous Maimonides book: "The guide for the perplexed" than to his monumental Mishne Torah. This does not give us full picture about Rambam (another name fro Maimonides), but, I think, one can forgive the author, the secular philosopher, that innocent bias :-)

Demistyfing The Dead Sea Scrolls

I'm sure you will not regret buying and listening to this course created and lead by Professor Lawrence H. Schiffman. In 14 Lectures, narrated by the professor himself, one can listen about the most important archaeological discovery of XX century. For those who do not know, in 1947 in a place west to Dead Sea, called Qumran, the first from a set of ancient manuscripts was found. The set was later called The Dead Sea Scrolls. Over next almost 20 years, hundreds of manuscripts, mostly - parts of scrolls were identified. For long time the discovery was a bit secretive, with lots of all sorts of conspiracy theories about them. None of them proved true. And this is what Lawrence Schiffman says - this discovery is one of the greatest, but there is nothing that could "prove" or "disprove" religious believes !!!

The course author makes some interesting hypothesis about Qumran and its community. For example, contrary to popular views telling of Essenes as the Qumran community inhabitants, he convinces the listeners that it was rather created by a group of pious, priestly Sadducees who supposedly distances themselves from the practices of the Temple in Jerusalem.

What is very important in this lecture is the objectivity of its teaching. The author clearly states, that, though the discovery is very important, it does not question or break any of existing religious traditions, including Judaism and Christianity. However, shedding light on the most interesting period in Judaism's history - i.e. the transformation from the Temple periods to later rabbinic or Talmudic period, it also sheds light on early Christian history.

The lecture ends with interesting summary of Dead Sea Scrolls presence in today's public culture, and this presence is said to bring a very positive effect on bringing closer the largest and oldest monotheistic religions of the world....

I listened to this lecture with great attention, also because several weeks ago I was blessed by the possibility to visit Qumran and to feel it's unique atmosphere. See my two pictures:

Books over Books - Reading as the ulimate prayer

After spending one week in Israel, I am still transfixed. I knew a bit of the importance of Books - mostly the Torah - for the People of the Holy Land, but what I witnessed was unbelievable. Books, Books, Books. You go to a small prayer house somewhere in Galilee and there are hundreds of Books. You go to Ancient Zfat synagogue - Books.


You go to Western Wall, and turn left 50 meters - thousands of books. Everywhere - in small, bigger, large communities of people - Jews are reading, commenting, studying.

The Nation of the Book. The Reading as the ultimate prayer.
That week was the pivotal week for my life....

Jerusalem - the epicenter of faiths

The "Fight for Jerusalem" by Dore Gold is a very good journalistic, fact book.

So, in some sense it is difficult to review, because it has sort-of apologetic character, that would be difficult to praise if it was a novel. But this is the book, that opens ones eyes on the nature of the conflict over Jerusalem. The conflict that originates in inability of many people to recognize the central role of Jerusalem and, in particular, of Temple Mount, to those who are not Muslims.
It is hard to believe but there are still people (mostly on the Arab side of the conflict) that try to deny the sanctity of the place for Judaism. There are theories, endorsed by some Palestinian circles, telling that Temple Mount was not the place where Holy of Holiest was in the past.

Dore Gold, through the survey of Jerusalem history, goes to the description of current situation in Jerusalem. What is incredible in this book is the revealing of facts that we have no chance to know. For example, all good people of the world condemn Iranian's leader Ahmadinejad, but we do not know that this guy believes in the return of 12th Imam, Mahdi !!! What it means in practice, is just horrible. In the name of his idea of G-d, he is ready to destroy the world, and to start this destruction in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, short survey of Internet using "Ahmadinejad Mahdi imam" supports what Dore Gold wrote....

The another fact, not very well known, is the removal of tons of rubble from The Temple Mount,by WAKF (Arabic governing body of Temple Mount) - the rubble that contained artefacts fromeven the First Salomon Temple. Unfortunately you could easily confirm that it indeed happened....

Maybe Dore Gold is a bit too appologetic, but, for G-d sake - it is for the good reason and the book shows how important for all people of the world is the religious freedom on the Temple Mount.