The Year of Living Biblically

Last week I read The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs. I had heard from a number of friends that it was something I would enjoy, and being a fan of the author already, I figured it was definitely worth my time, especially considering the premise of the book. If you don't know what it is about, here is how he describes it on his website:

"The Year of Living Biblically is about my quest to live the ultimate biblical life. To follow every single rule in the Bible – as literally as possible."

With that in mind, I sat down Thursday night to read and could not put it down. Between 8pm and midnight I had read 2/3 of the book and finished it Friday evening after temple.

My initial reaction to it is that it was an admirable undertaking, especially for a self-described agnostic. I had been curious ahead of time how much he would follow strict biblical law versus later interpretation (and by later I mean Talmudic). It turns out that he truly was trying to follow what the bible says and not what the rabbis later deemed the bible meant. For instance, there is the commandment to wear fringes on the corners of your garments. He decided, at first, to take this quite literally and attached tassels to his shirt collars, which made me chuckle, trying to imagine this crazy, bearded man with tassels that you would see on a curtain (or so I pictured) hanging down from his collar.

What struck me most, however, were some of the conclusions that Jacobs came to throughout his year. Most significantly, I think, is that he came to realize that religion, at least Judaism, can't be a solitary pursuit to have the significance that one is often looking for. You need community to celebrate with, mourn with, pray with, and simply live a religious life with. A lot of people would agree that it is so much easier to live a certain way if the people around you are also living that way. Jacobs tried to do so much of his following of the commandments as an individual that I think he truly missed out on how much the religion can shape your life for the better. The results of his journey would have been completely different had he been trying to follow one religion strictly instead of the bible.

I would recommend this to anyone who is trying to observe more mitzvot, or even for people who aren't. It's an insightful and interesting read on a topic approached with humor that so many times is approached with seriousness that can border on fanaticism.