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Corsi's Banquet Center
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the Palestinian territories and Jordan.
shirt, Bedouin-made baggy trousers
They saw the mountain where Noah's and sandals.
Ark was thought to have landed,
Looking at his travel companion —
climbed Mount Sinai, visited the site of described by his friends as a kind of
the burning bush and many other
unassuming prophet — Feiler realized
places referred to in the text, based on
that all of his own learning was in his
the latest archaeological research.
head, while for Goren, his knowledge
At each place, Feiler and Goren,
was in his feet. "My experience in one
who was the chief archaeologist of the
sentence," he says, "is that my learning
Sinai for 15 years, would read the bib-
went from my head to my feet."
lical stories that took place there.
As their travels progressed, Feiler
Feiler describes his method as "topo- became less consumed with the "question
graphical midrash, a geographical exe-
of proof— which rock, which river" and
gesis of the Bible." His approach to
more interested in questions of meaning.
the land is not in . terms of the politics
His prose reflects his sense of awe.
of the present — even though they
"The spirituality that came to me as a
sometimes had to take along security
result of this trip is not airy, not
escorts because of contemporary con-
ephemeral, not an abstract dreamy spiri-
flicts — but, rather, he tries to focus
tuality that much of the conversation in
on the landscape of the distant past.
America is about," he says. "It's very
He did most of the trip in 1998,
tangible, connected to the ground."
during a "bubble of peace," and
The 36-year-old is a writer who likes
acknowledges that many of the places
to immerse himself in other worlds and
would be difficult to get to now
then write about them from.the inside.
Combining journalism, analysis of
His previous books are Learning to
the text, history, memoir and many
Bow: Inside the Heart of Japan; Looking
interesting digressions, Feiler writes
for Class: Seeking Wisdom and Romance
with a sense of poetry about the land.
at Oxford and Cambridge; Under the
Along the way, he interviews
Big Top: A Season with the Circus; and
Bedouins, Jewish settlers, archaeolo-
Dreaming Out Loud: Garth Brooks,
gists, ambassadors and others about
Wynonna Judd, Wade Hayes and the
what the Bible means to them, and he
Changing Face of Nashville.
includes their voices.
In preparation for the trip he
Initially, Feiler set out to answer this
recounts in this book, he spent about
question: Is the Bible an abstraction,
a year reading in a course of study he
or a living entity? He became interest-
describes as "a self-taught master's
ed in the endeavor after rereading the
degree in the history of the Bible."
Bible as an adirlt.
In contrast to his experience upon
On a trip to Israel, he looked out
finishing his other books when he
over a sweeping view of the land, and
would leave the subject behind, when
realized that many biblical sites could
he completed this one, he didn't feel like
be visited.
he had to leave. Rather, he has entered a
Although most people tried to dis
world he'd like to stick around.
courage him, he persisted. That
A fifth-generation Reform Jew from
Goren, who knows Arabic, Turkish,
Savannah, Feiler grew up in Mikveh
Hebrew, English,
Israel, the second
Greek and hiero-
oldest synagogue in
glyphics, shared his
the country, where
interest and sense
his father was presi-
of adventure and
dent and his moth-
agreed to join him
er was the first
was a great coup
female president in
for Feiler, who
their 250-year his-
admits, "No Avner,
tory.
no book."
He says that he's
He describes a
always had a
scene when they
strong Jewish iden-
began their travels
:THROUGH THE
tity but through
in Turkey — Feiler
working on this
BOOKS OF MOSES
in brand-new,
project, he
crisply pressed
explains, "my
travel attire from
Jewish identity has
Banana Republic
been reattached to
and not-yet-bro-
the text. This book
ken-in hiking
brought me closer
boots, Goren
to the land, to the
spilling out of a T-
text, to God." ❑

ALKING
THE

Friday, June 15, 2001
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