America in an Ugly Snapshot

 

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, by Nathaniel Philbrick, tells the true story of the whaling ship that was purposefully struck by a sperm whale and sunk. This was the source of the novel Moby Dick.

I certainly feel sympathy for the struggles of the sailors a drift at sea, but when you read of their actions, I can only muster moral revulsion.  Whaling was an environmental catastrophe, of course for the whales, but just about for any other living thing their crew came across. The men of the Essex toted giant tortoises off the Galapagos Island for food, and then failed to feed or give them water (under the mistaken belief that can go for months without sustenance).  

One sailor, as a prank, burned down one the islands, leaving a charred wasteland. The surviving crew resorting to cannibalism – and it is sadly no surprise that the first sailors who supposedly died and were first eaten where the African-Americans among the crew.

This is America in a snapshot: environment destruction, racism, short sighed profit motives, even an abominable version of Quakerism… the whale was correct in identifying and destroying its enemy.  It killed in self-defense.

They were not stabbed in the back

 

Hundred Days: The Campaign That Ended World War I, by Nick Lloyd, is a fascinating look at the conclusion of the First World War and dispels many myths and assumptions.  Lloyd shows how the Western Allies were finally learning the hard lessons of the previous war.  No longer expecting quick breakthroughs of the German line (although those did happen) the Allies applied a constant pressure of shorter, quicker advances.  The German Army, depleted from ill-advised spring offenses, was crumbling under this pressure and a key lack of food, ammunition, and equipment.  

Lloyd’s work shows that the "stabbed in the back theory" of the German defeat is just a reactionary myth.  A myth, unfortunately, that is still employed today in German nationalist circles. This book sets the record straight.

The Mandate of Heaven

 

Heaven Cracks, Earth Shakes: The Tangshan Earthquake and the Death of Mao's China by James Palmer, is a fascinating dive into China in 1976, which was, to say the least, a tumultuous year.  The beloved Zhou Enlai died, and many other founding members of the PRC joined him.  Mao was terminally ill, and soon to die, and the Culture Revolution was coming to a fitful end.  The entire country was on edge, as the Gang of Four and Deng Xiaoping, among other factions, were vying for power.

Then the devastating earthquake in Tangshan.  It appeared, in 1976, that the Mandate of Heaven was being lifted from the Communist rulers of the PRC, and a revolution or civil war would erupt in China.  If not for Deng’s deft political maneuvers, it may have well happened.  After reading this book you realize how important 1976 was for the PRC; it was a pivotal transition from one era to the next.

No, its not a Jewish cabal

 

The Hero's Way: Walking with Garibaldi from Rome to Ravenna by Tim Parks is an interesting read, especially if you are a fan of Garibaldi, the Risorgimento, and the failed republican uprisings of 1848.  Really, you just need to be interested, even mildly, in one.  

The most fascinating thing I discovered in this book is that many Italians, especially those on the margins of this or that, dislike Garibaldi, and believe the unification of Italy was not only a disaster, but a conspiracy between Piedmont, Garibaldi, and Jewish bankers.  Perhaps throw in the Masons too.

Italian unification worked well for some regions, and very poorly in others.  But a conspiracy did not bring this about; in the end, it had more to do with north/south animosities and the government(s) that existed in different regions before unification. Jews or Jewish cabals had no hand in this.  

Sadly, our world is slipping toward these manic and lunatic explanations for why bad things happen.

Give Me That Old Time Hebrew

 

Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World, by Jeremy Benstein, is an entertaining and informative trip through the many avenues of the Hebrew language, both today and in antiquity and all places between.  I have two reservations which in no way diminish my appreciation for this book or love of Hebrew.

A. The author has a (sometimes unconscious) fear that the split between English and Hebrew as the two dominant Jewish languages is largely detrimental to the Jewish identity of English-speaking Jews.  Without Hebrew, Judaism is pale and skinny.  To be fair, he does not quite say that, but the implication is often there.  This slant ignores the fact that for most of our history Jews have spoken another language than Hebrew, and except for the very select few, had rudimentary Hebrew skills at best.

B. This book can make Jews who simply do not have the time, or “skills” to learn Hebrew feel like second-class Jews.  This is not stated in the book but is widely implied.  The fact is, it is far better to read an excellent translation of a Hebrew text (one that is annotated, that explains the process of translation from Hebrew to English) than have a poor knowledge of Hebrew. 

C. Still read this book, just don't feel bad about yourself.  You are a good Jew.

The Cave of the Heart

 

Nachman Davies’ book, The Cave of the Heart (Kuntres Maarat Ha-Lev): A Treatise on Jewish Contemplative Prayer, provides an excellent and insightful program in a little known area.  Other traditions have contemplative traditions and practices, but Judaism has always lagged behind in this regard.  One reason is the Jewish emphasis on communal worship and activities.  Judaism view narrowly does not appear to sanction solitary, contemplative work.  But this is not correct.  There have always been small numbers of people engaged in Jewish contemplation.  

Inside us, Davies writes, is a heart that yearns for individual connection to HaShem.  Davies tell us: 

When we attempt to meet G-d in private, on a one-to-one basis… we are being drawn into that cave. When we enter it in the contemplative prayer of attentiveness, we can become vehicles for the Presence of G-d. The Shekhinah then prays through us and thereby, each of us can attain a close intimacy with the Divine; with the rest of Knesset Yisrael (the Community of Israel); and with Kol ha-Olam (all creation).  -Why do I call it a cave of the Heart?  The heart of something is its essential core, its deepest.

Davies’ cave of the heart is both a place and an idea.  It is a place in that we seek it alone, like a person isolated in a cave.  It is an idea in that it exists within us just waiting for us to tap into it.  This book is crucial for anyone trying to do deep religious/spiritual work in the Jewish tradition.

Sitting with Your Pain

 

Every now and again it is good to read a book like The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön.  The greatest gift that Buddhism gives the world is the ability, through discipline and work, of seeing your life clearly.  It helps us to remove the road blocks, clutter and walls that we create for ourselves and that hide our true inner (and outer) working.

This book helps guide and train you to sit, very literally, with the feelings that scare you and not fight them.  This is very difficult to do.  We want to hide our fear, go around it, fix it, be distracted from it... anything but face it.  This books invites us to do that.  And not only that, but to sit and accept it just as we do the joys and pleasures of our lives.  Try it.  This is one of the most difficult things to do.