A Jewish friend of mine recommended Seed of Avraham - The 4000 Year History of the Jewish Family by Othniel Seiden to a Jewish Women's Social online discussion group. I knew I would find it interesting since I love historical fiction.
This book perhaps should be called "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Judaism, Jewish People, and Jewish History." Fictional stories are mixed with facts.
I feel I now have traveled through time. I've been through World War 2 and the Holocaust; I've been through the Crusades; I've seen the pogroms in Russia; I've been to Germany where Reformed Judaism began; I've walked to Palestine with a Jewish couple who wished to escape Jewish persecution in Russia; I've seen anti-semitism in its worst forms; I've seen a young Jewish boy ask to be exempt from singing Christmas Carols in public school; I've seen Jewish families deal with eating non-Kosher foods and not observing the Sabbath; I've met the Judge Deborah; and I've even seen David kill Goliath. I've met the Baal Shem Tov who founded Hasidic Judaism and I've even met Rabbi Akiva and learned about the Nazarenes and "Joshua the Messiah."
Yes, Seed of Avraham is an amazing read and is a "page turner" at times. There were also times I had to go back and read entire chapters again since there is so much information in this book. I wanted to understand everything and I learned so much.
The book tells historical stories through the eyes of average Jewish people that could or may have been my relatives. The book skips from thousands of years ago and moves to the present, then goes back hundreds of years, and then moves to the present, and then goes back two or three thousand years. What a great way to travel through time and to learn at the same time!
In addition, certain Jewish words and terms and names are highlighted in bold throughout the volume. I was surprised how many of those words and terms and names I already knew!
Here's some examples of the stories told in Seed of Avraham:
The story of King David is told through the life of a friend of David's who's father was the armor bearer to King Saul. Other stories like the Inquisition, the Holocaust, and Columbus' journey are also told. I found out the many people think Columbus might have been a secret Jew!
The reader "hears" the stories because they are told through the eyes of people who were "there."
The book will be of interest to people of all faiths, but people who are Jewish will especially enjoy it because this book is the story of any Jewish family. Since my grandmother may have left Russia for a better life in the USA like some of the characters in the book, I especially related. There were stories my dad told me about his life as a young boy in the USA that were similarly told in this book.
I also related to the "search for something more" that occurs for a character named David. Although his secular life provided great fulfillment, at the end of the book David realizes that his desire to serve and know G-d was and is very real. I'm wondering how many Jewish people may experience something similar.
Another wonderful point the author makes is that Jewish people are truly a connected family. How great that is!
Readers should know this book is very, very long, and there are some typos in the book, but it is a great read.
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