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 Among
the books that have been important for me, I would cite three
nonfiction works and three contemporary novels. The Art of
Forgiveness: Theological Reflections on Healing and Reconciliation
by Geiko Muller-Fahrenholz, a Protestant theologian, is a
profound work of practical theology, immensely helpful for anyone
working for peace and reconciliation. Holy War, Holy Peace: How
Religion Can Bring Peace to the Middle East by Rabbi Dr. Marc
Gopin combines a theoretical perspective, drawing on Jewish and
Islamic traditions, with lessons derived from direct experience in
the Middle East, including meetings with leaders and grass-roots
activists in Israel/Palestine.
The central premise of the book is that a secular, rationalist
model for peacemaking will not work for the Holy Land and that the
religious passions of people on all sides need to be addressed for
the peacebuilding process to succeed. At the Entrance to the
Garden of Eden: A Jew Looks for Hope with Christians and Muslims
in the Holy Land by Yossi Klein Halevi chronicles the writer's
two-year spiritual journey exploring the beliefs and practices of
his Christian and Muslim neighbors in Israel/Palestine.
It seeks to find a transcendent point of reference, and
reverence, that overcome the political impasse and undergird a
pluralistic society. As A Driven Leaf by Rabbi Milton
Steinberg, a novel set in the Holy Land during the 2nd century C.E.
(A.D.), has as its main protagonists two Jewish sages, Akiva ben
Yosef and Elisha ben Abuyah.
The latter is an apostate to Hellenism, attracted by its
aesthetic and technical accomplishments, while Akiva remains
steadfastly loyal to the Biblical/Rabbinic tradition, with its
moral emphasis on human dignity.
My Name Is Asher Lev is Chaim Potok's classic novel
of a Jewish artist who ends up using Christian aesthetic
categories to express his inmost feelings, a choice for which he
pays a high price in terms of family ties. Finally, Four
Letters of Love is an exquisitely beautiful novel by the Irish
writer Niall Williams, a master wordsmith.
For anyone, like myself, who has fallen in love with
Ireland, this evocation of the people and places around Galway
will have strong appeal. The
story concerns a young man and a young woman, whose paths converge
in a providentially orchestrated way, raising questions about our
individual destinies as part of a larger design.
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