Walking the
Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses is
the story of Bruce Feiler's 10,000-mile trek from Mount Ararat
to Mount Nebo, undertaken for reasons he did not understand at
the outset and accompanied by a companion who was very nearly a
stranger. In the book's first chapter, in characteristically
understated style, Feiler suggests a viable parallel to his
journey:
Abraham was not originally the man he became. He was not
an Israelite, he was not a Jew. He was not even a believer in
God--at least initially. He was a traveler, called by some
voice not entirely clear that said: Go, head to this land,
walk along this route, and trust what you will find.
Feiler, a fifth-generation American Jew from the South, had
felt no particular attachment to the Holy Land. Yet during his
journey, Feiler's previously abstract faith grew more grounded.
("I began to feel a certain pull from the landscape.... It was
a feeling of gravity. A feeling that I wanted to take off all
my clothes and lie facedown in the soil.") Feiler's
attentiveness, intelligence, and adventurousness enliven every
page of this book. And the lessons he learned about the
relationship between place and the spirit will be useful for
readers of every religious tradition that finds its origins in
the Bible. --Michael Joseph Gross, Amazon.com
