Why we need Biblical Fiction
I write Biblical Fiction. People love it and people hate it. Some consider it blasphemous and some think it a modern revelation of the word of God. I write it from a sense of mission. A mission to educate. It is succeeding. It is succeeding beyond my expectations. It is entering homes and synagogues and schools in a fashion I could have only hoped.
Ive been asked to answer how Biblical Fiction might be used in a school setting, what am I trying to do with it, and why I think it is important.
Practical school use: either accompanying biblical text or independently.
I now have an archive (at ben-tzion.com, and carried in part by The Times of Israel) of short fictional stories for almost each week of the yearly Torah-reading cycle, as well as novel-length serializations of the Book of Joshua, the story of Ehud from the Book of Judges, and Im in the midst of the serialization of the Book of Ruth. (Warning: the novels have much greater elements of fantasy/magic, similar to Tolkien or Rowling). At the end of each story or chapter I include the primary biblical sources as well as secondary midrashic sources, as relevant. For Bereshit (Genesis), weve published an attractive soft-cover book (and e-book) that besides the actual stories, have classical illustrations for each story, hand-drawn maps of ancient Israel and the Middle East, genealogical charts, glossary, index and perhaps most importantly for teachers, questions for discussion.
Master curriculum-writer, Devorah Katz of Alon Shvut, composed a series of questions for each story that further engages students in the classroom with minimal preparation needed by the teacher.
Using the fictional stories allows a teacher the ability to do a variety of things:
a. brings the characters and stories to life in a way most Bible/Tanakh classes dont,
b. allows students to think for themselves as to the differences between the primary text, midrashim and fictionalization,
c. gives permission to the students to imagine their own scenes based on the text, to fill in the blanks that are throughout the biblical narrative, to think of how the prescribed laws applied in biblical times,
d. puts Bible study in greater context as opposed to the vacuum that it is general taught in.
I am certain that imaginative teachers will find even greater and more powerful uses for these stories.
As to why I think biblical fiction is important, it is very simple. Were at war.
It is an ancient war. It is a war of ideas and belief and culture. It goes as far back as the Hellenists foisting Greek culture upon the Hebrew nation. Many embraced the exciting, intoxicating wines that emanated from Athens. However, Jerusalem could not long absorb such foreign influences without ill effects. Those that embraced Hellenism wholeheartedly were quickly lost to their brethren. Those that fought it took up arms and joined the Maccabees in their famed rebellion. But what about those in the middle? What about those who enjoyed only certain aspects of Greek wisdom and culture? There were certainly some developments of the Greeks that were worthy of adoption, were there not? Maimonides himself freely borrowed from their famed Aristotle (though there were many in his own day that frowned upon him for that).
Today the war continues and the battle-lines are as muddled as ever. There is a global culture popularized by the studios of Hollywood. It is a culture that permeates almost every aspect of modern life. Commercialism, advertising, product design, technology and materialism are all touched by the values of the ancient Greek gods of beauty, eternal youth, wealth and power. Our brothers who revel or wallow in the wine of modern culture are as lost to us as the former Hellenists.
In contrast, as a rebellion against these influences, many communities have cut themselves off from modern life. Walls of fear and xenophobia surround their self-centered communities. However, their walls are cracked. Fear was never a protection against the Other. It merely leads to Hatred, Misunderstanding and eventually Dysfunction.
And what about those in the wide middle? Those dedicated to higher values, to the eternal truths of generosity, kindness, integrity, wisdom, honest work, reverence of elders, respect of others, charity, depth, tradition, service and community. Modern culture does pay lip service to such values. But it often seems merely window dressing to the driving values of the false gods we worship instead.
Those of us in the middle are tossed about like lone sailboats on a tempestuous sea. We reach for beacons in the distance, but are ever confused as to which one leads to safe harbor. The glitzy glamorous visions attract us like moths to a flame. From what values can we receive warmth without getting burned?
The tools and technology of modern culture are clearly powerful and perhaps irresistible. For children who cannot otherwise sit still, to be mesmerized and transfixed by the latest electronic stimulation of mind-numbing nonsense is a victory of modern innovation. Even the beautifully written books of adventure, conflict and excitement that draw children and adults into their world, while valuable as a source of entertainment, do little in the educational realm.
That is where we enter the realm of Biblical Fiction and my motivation to jump into the fray. As a believer in the importance and even the primacy of the Bible, I cried at my childrens ability to memorize fictional inanities in stark contrast to their disinterest in their very own rich Biblical tradition and culture. The attraction of modern entertainment was clear and obvious. The dusty Bible remained on the bookshelf, unopened and unused. It was boring. It was not interesting. Even the most exciting stories were told in an archaic, ossified fashion.
One of the most successful storytellers of the last century was J.R.R. Tolkien. In The Lord of the Rings Tolkien created a world filled with a deep history, so rich, so detailed, so seductive, a realm real and exciting and ready for successive exploration by a worldwide audience.
We have such a history! And it is true! We have a document lovingly protected, painstakingly transmitted, and punctiliously maintained which is millennia old! And it is OURS! It is not of make-believe elves and orcs and dwarves and hobbits, no matter how cute or inviting they may be. We have a history, a tradition, a story of Man himself. From the very beginning of time. From the foundation of History. The story of Adam. The story of Noah and the Flood. The story of the Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Of the Exodus from Egypt. Of Moses and the Commandments. And much more.
Until somewhat over a century ago, the word of the Bible was considered sacrosanct. It was taken for granted that the stories and histories were real. Then something changed. Doubt. Doubt in our traditions. Doubt in the chain of teacher to student and father to son. Was it the disruption of modern life? Modern wars? Faith in God was replaced by Faith in Science, though that science was determined by High Priests in white cloaks that were just as fallible as their religious counterparts.
But how do we turn back the clock? How do we return this tradition to the center? One way is to fight fire with fire. To use the very tools, the very weapons, technology and media of our amorphous enemy. Many have paved the way. They have written Biblical Fiction. They have taken those biblical stories, the bones of the ancient texts and laid new muscles and sinews upon them. They have given them skin and clothing to make them palatable, understandable and accessible to a modern audience.
To aid the Biblical Fiction writer, besides the basic text itself, there is a strong written tradition of biblical commentary that has accompanied the biblical text for almost as long as the prime text itself. This commentary has been kept by the People of the Book, by the Jewish people, all along its long exile and to this very day. The commentary is often as exciting, as revealing, as controversial as the prime text itself, if not more so. It paints a clearer and often a more complex picture of different biblical personalities and stories. This commentary is part of the Jewish tradition.
Of course, these authors all come with their own voice and style, but I will split them into three broad categories for the purpose of this essay. There is a school of writers that use the biblical stories and personalities as a springboard for the telling of their story. They have taken the bare bones of the textual information and mangled their skeletal creations. They have developed crippled and misshapen beings with little semblance to either the texts or the traditions that accompany the biblical stories. They may be successful and entertaining, but I believe it is a disservice to students or potential students of the Bible.
The second school of writers is truer to the sources, but may use their storytelling to promote certain agendas. It may be a parochial religious ideology it is espousing. It may be supportive of biblical criticism that erodes belief in the divine inspiration of the Bible. While this school is not directly offensive it is perhaps the more dangerous and insidious of the two. It is easier to be defensive against a clearly incorrect depiction of tradition than against one that is only mildly so.
The third school of writers comprises those who are true to the sources and tradition. These are not surprisingly those most familiar and intimate with the extensive biblical commentary. I humbly place myself within this category. Throughout my writings, I have toiled to become familiar with as many of the relevant commentaries for each personality and story as possible. I have read both the basic text and the commentaries in their original Hebrew. I have visited the archeological sites of the setting for many of the stories and perused through the latest archeological studies and theories. I have become as intimate as possible with the biblical texts, geography, findings, and commentaries until the point where I can almost picture the scene in my minds eye, as if Abraham were standing in front of me now. Over thirty years of loving study and research have led to my constructing a world that exists in my mind. A world based on the Bible and its commentaries.
It is still a fictional world though. It is made up. I have weaved the stories in such a way that it may be difficult for the casual reader to differentiate between biblical dialogue and my own, between biblical commentary and novel exegesis, between archeological evidence and fantasy.
At the end of the day, I also need to entertain, to tell a good story. I may also be guilty of the sins of the other two schools, of either mangling a character or promoting my own parochial agenda, but I suppose that is the protection we all share by the title fiction. I have been aided and inspired in this effort by many great and authoritative people. Any and all errors are of course my own.
My hope, my fervent desire, is that these stories will just be the beginning of your students journey. That their curiosity will be piqued. That they will wonder, what is based upon the text and what is fictional? That they will want to visit the primary sources and see for themselves what it says. Why do these personalities hold such an important place in our tradition? What else does the Bible say? What other mysteries, adventures and revelations are hidden within its pages? That they too may discover the beauty, the passion and the guidance that I have found in it.
