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A review by lory_enterenchanted
The Rock, the Road, and the Rabbi: My Journey Into the Heart of Scriptural Faith and the Land Where It All Began by Kathie Lee Gifford
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle
There were some interesting nuggets here, but lots of "facts" with no citation, and much reliance on the history of Josephus, which I don't think can be entirely reliable. Plus, I have a hard time trusting a text that contains such bloopers as: "Baal is the pagan word for Lord" ("pagan" is not a language) "Caesar Augustus, who was the son of the assassinated Julius Caesar" (Augustus (Octavian) was Julius Caesar's great-nephew, not his son, though he was named his heir in his will) and "The Jews were the first monotheistic culture in history" (What about Akhenaten?)
Then there was a disturbing description of Israeli fighter planes erupting from silos and screeching overhead as the tour group stood on Mount Carmel, site of Elijah's victory over the Baal priests. "It was exhilarating beyond description ... my soul leaps at the memory of it. God is still winning the victory. He is still fulfilling his promises. ... There is a God in Israel! And he still loves His people and the land they were called to." KLG has just questioned who our false gods are today, and then said this. If militarism and nationalism are not false gods, what is? Personally, I am not in agreement that a display of death machines should be taken as a triumphant symbol of the will of God for humanity today.
Meanwhile, KLG finds the Palestinian Authority in Bethlehem to be darkly oppressive, spoiling the spiritual atmosphere for the tour group. Oh, dear.
Rabbi Sobel's explanations sound plausible but could also be spurious. I've never heard of Levitical shepherds tending the sacrifices for the Temple ... but it's true, someone had to do it. Swaddling lambs and laying them in a manger to keep them from bruising themselves on cave walls, though - really? How does he know that babies were washed in salt, what is the evidence for that? Then there is total speculation that Jesus's swaddling clothes might have been made from the old priests' garments, which were normally used to make wicks for the menorah, but were given to Mary by her cousin Elizabeth (wife to a priest). The shepherds were not impressed by their hearts' connection to the baby, but by his being embedded in all these symbols. Kind of takes the magic out of the Christmas story.
There were some interesting nuggets here, but lots of "facts" with no citation, and much reliance on the history of Josephus, which I don't think can be entirely reliable. Plus, I have a hard time trusting a text that contains such bloopers as: "Baal is the pagan word for Lord" ("pagan" is not a language) "Caesar Augustus, who was the son of the assassinated Julius Caesar" (Augustus (Octavian) was Julius Caesar's great-nephew, not his son, though he was named his heir in his will) and "The Jews were the first monotheistic culture in history" (What about Akhenaten?)
Then there was a disturbing description of Israeli fighter planes erupting from silos and screeching overhead as the tour group stood on Mount Carmel, site of Elijah's victory over the Baal priests. "It was exhilarating beyond description ... my soul leaps at the memory of it. God is still winning the victory. He is still fulfilling his promises. ... There is a God in Israel! And he still loves His people and the land they were called to." KLG has just questioned who our false gods are today, and then said this. If militarism and nationalism are not false gods, what is? Personally, I am not in agreement that a display of death machines should be taken as a triumphant symbol of the will of God for humanity today.
Meanwhile, KLG finds the Palestinian Authority in Bethlehem to be darkly oppressive, spoiling the spiritual atmosphere for the tour group. Oh, dear.
Rabbi Sobel's explanations sound plausible but could also be spurious. I've never heard of Levitical shepherds tending the sacrifices for the Temple ... but it's true, someone had to do it. Swaddling lambs and laying them in a manger to keep them from bruising themselves on cave walls, though - really? How does he know that babies were washed in salt, what is the evidence for that? Then there is total speculation that Jesus's swaddling clothes might have been made from the old priests' garments, which were normally used to make wicks for the menorah, but were given to Mary by her cousin Elizabeth (wife to a priest). The shepherds were not impressed by their hearts' connection to the baby, but by his being embedded in all these symbols. Kind of takes the magic out of the Christmas story.