By Sheila Orysiek
SAN DIEGO –The history of the Jewish people is a long one – well, not just long – very long. Because our history is intertwined with so many other groups and countries it is also bound to be complex – with triumphs, tsuras (trouble) and lots of dates. However, it would be nice to read about this history as a flowing story and see it in the context of world history.
Melvin Konner’s Unsettled, an Anthropology of the Jews (don’t let the title put you off) is the ticket to a palatable meal. The book, published in 2009, by the Viking Group, Penguin Books, gives an anthropologist’s view of the people and our unique history. Beginning with the pastoral times of the Bronze Age, Konner takes the reader on a road trip through history, analyzing through the eyes of an anthropologist, the impact of this small group upon the history of other cultures and civilizations. This is by no means a school text – but a well written flowing story.
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From the Jewish Library
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The first historic mention of Israel is an inscription at the time of the Pharoah Merneptah: “Israel is stripped bare, wholly lacking seed.” Well, not quite. The many hostile empires that sought to eliminate our ancestors are gone – left in the detritus of time; we are still here. Throughout our history we have on many occasions been declared dead by means of assimilation, dispersal and destruction, thus I was especially interested in Konner’s thoughts as an anthropologist about the future of our people.
As Rabbi David Wolpe says in his remarks regarding this book: “(Konner)……surveys the Jewish world with the eye of an anthropologist and recounts it all with the skilled pen of a storyteller.” That’s about it – in a nutshell; a book well worth the time of anyone who wants to see the story unfold in one digestible book.
And who knows…it might just whet the appetite for further helpings.
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Orysiek is a freelance writer who focuses on literature and the arts. She may be contacted via sheila.orysiek@sdjewishworld.com