The Importance of Healing

I started writing articles to send to magazines.  The ulitmate goal is to promote healing, though I don't know at this point how directly they will talk about healing.   I do think I need to raise awareness of some of these issues in more places.  As I write these articles, I will paste them here.  I don't know yet when or if any of them will make it into print anywhere else.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Book review     How to Kill Giants,

by David bar Jesse

Bethlehem Press

So David, the son of Jesse, is now a writer.  It wasn‘t more than a few years now that David was a shepherd boy on the hills of Judea.  The story is almost legend now.  His father sends him on an errand to bring some sack lunches for his brothers who are in the army, camped in the valley of Elah, ready to do battle with the Philistines. 

The mothers of Israel were waiting with bated breath for any reports from the battlefield about the fates of their sons.  But nothing was happening. 

Like I said, we all know the story.  David walks in, and in no time he is the hero, having killed the Philistine’s champion with a sling.  Yes, David, we are all grateful.

But now he follows with a book.  His arrogance was evident that first day he walked into the camp.  Like a child watching his craftsman father making fine pottery. He clamors about:  “I can do it.  I can do it.  This is easy.  Let me try.”

Ah, yes, and he did do it.  And, yes, David, we are all grateful.  But to come along now with a book telling us that anyone can kill giants is a bit much.  It’s like what veteran soldiers tell us about all the time.  They get some raw recruit, and the first time they use a bow or throw a javelin, they hit the target.  They aren’t good; they are just lucky. Some of them have the good sense to recognize it, but others start strutting around like they are God’s gift to the nation. The latest in a long line of soldier-heroes.

                The secret to his success, and this is not a spoiler alert here, is his faith in God.  Well, David, this is Israel.  We all worship the true God.  He acts like he’s the only one to believe in the One God.  But, worse, he says that anyone can kill a giant.  He doesn’t need to go to soldier school, just learn the lessons from one’s daily life, and you too can defeat the biggest enemies.   

                He soon generalizes and makes the smallest problems of your life into mini-Goliaths, which you can conquer by faith.  Like God is concerned about whether you make the team at school.  This is almost an insult to Him, bless His Name.

David’s answers are simplistic, even clichés.  He takes his experiences and generalizes them, as if we are all to follow his example.  All we have to do is live our lives like him, and we too can become heroes of Israel. 

David, we hear you are doing well in the army now.  Your luck is holding out, but leave the books to the scholars.  Try this again in 40 years, and we will see what you have to say then.  If you are still around.

0 stars

                                                                                                Ishaq ben Reuben

                                                                                                Professor of Sacred History              

School of Jerusalem