by Lorraine Blatt – Librarian
This past month the Library received a donation of five really interesting and timely books from Pat Myers and Mark Holt.
The first book is The Study of Quran, a new translation and commentary, edited by Seyyed Hossen Nasr, an Islamic scholar. Copyright 2015.
This book is “a historic and groundbreaking work produced by a distinguished team of Islamic studies scholars….” It is a new English translation that is said to be accurate and reliable. It has verse by verse commentary that “brings together the most respected and distinguished traditions of metaphysical, spiritual, theological and legal interpretations of the Quran within Islam.” The book includes essays by 15 renowned scholars. It is an accessible and scholarly resource on how Muslims have interpreted the Quran through the centuries up to the present day. In light of our present situation, it offers an understanding of Islamic thought.
The second book is The Accidental Empire – Israel and the Birth of the Settlements 1967-1977, by Gershom Gorenberg. Copyright 2006.
The book delves into the untold story of the actions and inactions that created the Israeli Settlements in the occupied territories after the Israeli troops won the Six Day War. After the war there was a complex political drama in which the central issue was “should Jews build settlements in the territories taken in the war.” The book is Gorenberg’s gripping account of how the settlements came to be. It includes information from recently opened archives. Gorenberg tells the story of the politics around the decisions to settle the territories. He includes the information and thoughts of the great Israeli leaders of the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s – Dayan, Meir, Eshkol, and Allon – and also includes more contemporary leaders like Sharon, Rabin, and Peres. Gorenberg looks at the Johnson, Nixon, and Ford administrations, including their views and the manner in which the Vietnam War and the U.S. conflict with the Soviets tempered what was said and thought by the U.S., the U.N., and Western nations.
Gorenberg sheds light on the hidden history of the settlements from the first settler, who came five weeks after the end of the Six Day War, through present times. The book illuminates the political interactions within Israel’s political parties and also the look or non-look of the U.S. and others.
The third book is Becoming Un-Orthodox: Stories of Ex-Hasidic Jews. Copyright 2014.
Leaving a religion is a difficult journey. It means more than losing or rejecting a faith. It also means big changes of habits and everyday routines. The book is based on in-depth conversations with 40 ex-Hasidic people. “Many of those interviewed spoke of feeling marginalized in their own communities; of strain in their homes due to death, divorce, or their parents’ profound religious differences; of experiencing sexual, physical, or verbal abuse; or expressed an acute awareness of gender inequality, the dissimilar lives of their secular relatives and forbidden television, phones, movies and books.”
The book draws attention to the vital role of the body and bodily behavior in religious practices. Physical rituals and routines play a large part, particularly in very conservative religions like Hasidic Judaism. The book explores how shedding these rituals is central to leaving the religion. An example is the ability of some of these people to access information in libraries that opened their minds to other and different ideas. Once some of these individuals were able to experience knowledge outside their sheltered lives they began to question and seek other ideas. This will be a very interesting read. The excerpts I read really made you think and look at beliefs.
The other two donated books will be covered next month.
As a reminder, please do not drop off books in the library without leaving a note with your name and contact information. Thanks!