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His feet are made for walking ... the Bible
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BY: ARLENE FINE, Staff Reporter
In his best selling book, Walking the Bible, 2002, Bruce Feiler has written so eloquently about his experiences at holy sites, that readers can almost feel the desert sand beneath their feet.
The noted author and lecturer will speak about the book and his epiphanies in the desert at The Temple-Tiferith Israel on Sunday, September 10 at 8 p.m.
Walking the Bible is a first-person description of Feiler's 10,000-mile journey by foot, jeep, rowboat and camel through biblical sites. A fifth-generation Jew from Savannah, Ga., Feiler began his year-long trek in 1998.
"As a writer and a Jew, I wanted to become more conversant with the Bible, which I had not read since I was a kid; which means I didn't really read it,” he explained in a phone interview from his New York City home.
The spark for the book was ignited when Feiler, a world-traveler ("I was lucky to be born in the age of discount airfares”), visited a friend in Jerusalem in the mid-1990s.
"He gave me an historic tour of the city and pointed out the cliff near the Dome of the Rock where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac,” says Feiler. "Suddenly, the Bible came alive to me; it was not some abstract book with black covers and gilded edges. I saw it as a living, breathing entity, an ongoing narrative. I desperately wanted to know this Bible that still plays itself out in the lives of the people who are impacted by it daily, nearly 5,000 years after it was written.”
To prepare for his quest, Feiler spent a year studying the Bible and speaking to biblical scholars. He accumulated two bookcases full of books describing the nuances of biblical texts.
To guide him on his Middle East journey, Feiler had the invaluable services of famed Israeli archaeologist Avner Goran, who became Feiler's partner, mentor, sidekick and "desert prophet.”
"We began the odyssey when there was a bubble of peace in the Middle East,” says Feiler. "We could travel freely from one place to another. Religion was not the deadly idea it has become today.”
Feiler's goal was to retrace the Bible through the desert. "I considered the Bible like another world and became part of it,” he says. "I was determined to discover if the Bible was real or a myth.”
His quest took him to Turkey, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Egypt, Jordan, three continents and four war zones. He visited Mount Ararat, where it is believed Noah's ark landed; St. Catherine's Monastery, the site of the burning bush where Moses first heard the words of God; and Mount Nebo, where Moses overlooked the "Land of Milk and Honey.”
Feiler speaks joyfully about meeting the monks at St. Catherine's Monastery, the oldest operating church in the world, where services are still held five times a day in Byzantine Greek.
"The monks claim the biblical burning bush is still there, but it was moved from its original site when the monastery expanded,” says Feiler. "Can you imagine being on a committee that had to decide whether to move the burning bush or not?”
Being the second son in his family, Feiler says he was drawn to biblical heroes who are also second sons. "I like Jacob, not because he steals his brother's birthright, but because when he wrestles with God, God does not leave a mark on his eyes, nose or tongue. He leaves a mark on his leg. The message is: The way to get close to God is not to see, smell or talk to him, but to walk with him.”
Among the many other lessons Feiler learned from the Bible is that it is okay for a nation of people to be small. He cites Isaiah 42:6 where Jews are instructed to be "A covenant people, a light of nations.”
"Perhaps that is why ancient Jews wandered throughout Israel, Babylon and Persia,” says the author. "Today, when the big question is can we get along, the Jewish people through thousands of years of getting along with people of all faiths, have a great message to give the world. This is how we can achieve lasting peace - through honest communication, mutual respect and tolerance.”
Another personal revelation Feiler had is, "If God wanted us to know the exact location of Mt. Sinai, he would have told us. I realize that what really matters are the lessons to be learned from the Bible; discovering the actual sites is not the intended message. I started my journey looking for science, and I came away finding meaning.”
Feiler will speak at The Temple-Tifereth Israel on Sept. 10 at 8 p.m. Fee. For information, call 216-593-0575.
afine@cjn.org
The noted author and lecturer will speak about the book and his epiphanies in the desert at The Temple-Tiferith Israel on Sunday, September 10 at 8 p.m.
Walking the Bible is a first-person description of Feiler's 10,000-mile journey by foot, jeep, rowboat and camel through biblical sites. A fifth-generation Jew from Savannah, Ga., Feiler began his year-long trek in 1998.
"As a writer and a Jew, I wanted to become more conversant with the Bible, which I had not read since I was a kid; which means I didn't really read it,” he explained in a phone interview from his New York City home.
The spark for the book was ignited when Feiler, a world-traveler ("I was lucky to be born in the age of discount airfares”), visited a friend in Jerusalem in the mid-1990s.
"He gave me an historic tour of the city and pointed out the cliff near the Dome of the Rock where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac,” says Feiler. "Suddenly, the Bible came alive to me; it was not some abstract book with black covers and gilded edges. I saw it as a living, breathing entity, an ongoing narrative. I desperately wanted to know this Bible that still plays itself out in the lives of the people who are impacted by it daily, nearly 5,000 years after it was written.”
To prepare for his quest, Feiler spent a year studying the Bible and speaking to biblical scholars. He accumulated two bookcases full of books describing the nuances of biblical texts.
To guide him on his Middle East journey, Feiler had the invaluable services of famed Israeli archaeologist Avner Goran, who became Feiler's partner, mentor, sidekick and "desert prophet.”
"We began the odyssey when there was a bubble of peace in the Middle East,” says Feiler. "We could travel freely from one place to another. Religion was not the deadly idea it has become today.”
Feiler's goal was to retrace the Bible through the desert. "I considered the Bible like another world and became part of it,” he says. "I was determined to discover if the Bible was real or a myth.”
His quest took him to Turkey, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Egypt, Jordan, three continents and four war zones. He visited Mount Ararat, where it is believed Noah's ark landed; St. Catherine's Monastery, the site of the burning bush where Moses first heard the words of God; and Mount Nebo, where Moses overlooked the "Land of Milk and Honey.”
Feiler speaks joyfully about meeting the monks at St. Catherine's Monastery, the oldest operating church in the world, where services are still held five times a day in Byzantine Greek.
"The monks claim the biblical burning bush is still there, but it was moved from its original site when the monastery expanded,” says Feiler. "Can you imagine being on a committee that had to decide whether to move the burning bush or not?”
Being the second son in his family, Feiler says he was drawn to biblical heroes who are also second sons. "I like Jacob, not because he steals his brother's birthright, but because when he wrestles with God, God does not leave a mark on his eyes, nose or tongue. He leaves a mark on his leg. The message is: The way to get close to God is not to see, smell or talk to him, but to walk with him.”
Among the many other lessons Feiler learned from the Bible is that it is okay for a nation of people to be small. He cites Isaiah 42:6 where Jews are instructed to be "A covenant people, a light of nations.”
"Perhaps that is why ancient Jews wandered throughout Israel, Babylon and Persia,” says the author. "Today, when the big question is can we get along, the Jewish people through thousands of years of getting along with people of all faiths, have a great message to give the world. This is how we can achieve lasting peace - through honest communication, mutual respect and tolerance.”
Another personal revelation Feiler had is, "If God wanted us to know the exact location of Mt. Sinai, he would have told us. I realize that what really matters are the lessons to be learned from the Bible; discovering the actual sites is not the intended message. I started my journey looking for science, and I came away finding meaning.”
Feiler will speak at The Temple-Tifereth Israel on Sept. 10 at 8 p.m. Fee. For information, call 216-593-0575.
afine@cjn.org
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