The second book in the Year of 20 is a tale of one man’s quest to follow the Bible as closely as possible for one year. The author, A.J. Jacobs, is not the inventor of the one-year self quest, but is part of my inspiration. The humorous ways he strings together his experiences with his off-beat goals makes has him climbing my list of heroes.
“The Year of Living Biblically” is a follow up to a book of his I read last summer called “The Know-It-All.” That project was reading the Encyclopaedia Brittainica from cover to cover, and if you’re going to be one of the 57 percent of Americans who read just one book this year, that should be it.
Shockingly, Jacobs is still married when this book begins. And when it ends. You know you’ve found “the one” when she puts up with crazy quests that consume large portions of your time for several years. Especially when young children are involved.
Jacobs starts with the Old Testament, and makes a list of biblical rules he finds. When he prints it out, the set of rules comprises 72 pages. Like any any good quest, he thinks about the scope at the beginning and comes up with guidelines. He makes a practical decision early on to focus on certain rules to make the quest even possible. He divides them into to two basic groups–the “big” ones and the bizarre ones.
My favorite odd rule, or rather the way he lives it out, is paying your workers at the end of each day. “Wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning,” (Leviticus 19:13).
His babysitter needs to be paid by check at the end of each week for her tax purposes. So Jacobs pays her in cash each day, and then asks her to return it at the end of the week in exchange for a check. Can you imagine going to work one day and having your boss propose that kind of setup? I’d probably just walk out of the room and come back in again like the conversation never took place. Also take into account, he hasn’t shaved in several months and has switched to a wardrobe of nothing but white clothing.
His daily wear is a great mental visual. Jacobs lives in New York city, and recounts his feelings about walking out on the streets with the aforementioned attire, beard, and sometimes a 10-string harp or walking stick. He talks about a wonderful moment on the subway where he looks up to see a monk, who gives him a smile and a nod like he’s in some kind of dedicated multi-faith religious community. It’s interesting to see how small changes on the outside completely change how some people view and treat him.
But by far the funniest rule he attempts to follow is the stoning of adulterers and Sabbath breakers. He decides a loophole in the stoning ritual is the lack of mention of how big the stones have to be. So he gathers a bunch of pebbles and puts them in his pocket. He seeks out people working on the Sabbath and flicks them into their back, or casually drops them on the person’s shoe. Unfortunately, everyone notices, so he apologizes, picks up his stone and quickly walks away.
Until he meets a guy in the park. “Hey, you’re dressed queer,” an old man says. After a brief discussion, Jacobs learns the man is an adulterer. The man says he’ll punch Jacobs in the face if he hits the man with a stone. So of course Jacobs flicks one right into the man’s chest. That’s just brilliant commitment to your project.
If you’re not going to read the book, at least go to a bookstore and look at the pictures. They are high-larious. And if there wasn’t massive itching and discomfort involved, I would totally go for his massive year-long-beard look. It’s quite enviable.
If you’ve ever had any sort of religious background, or are interested in Judeo-Christian teachings, there is an interesting examination behind the humor. Jacobs brings a host of scholars and historical perspectives to examine the rules he is following and tries to discover why they are what they are. In many cases, there is a camp that has an explicit reasoning for a particular item, while another points out that for as much as we think we understand there is so much we never can.
Jacobs has a Jewish background but is not practicing. One of the things he struggles with at the beginning is praying several times a day. He grows to find that a time he looks forward to and gets something out of, even if he’s not entirely sure what he believes. An interesting take on slowing down for parts of each day and each week to reflect, give thanks and focus on being a better person.
“The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible” by A.J. Jacobs.
Starting tomorrow….”The Picture of Dorian Gray.”
