Book review How to
Kill Giants,
by David bar Jesse
Bethlehem Press
So David, the son of Jesse, is now a writer. It wasn‘t more than a few years now that
David was a shepherd boy on the hills of Judea.
The story is almost legend now.
His father sends him on an errand to bring some sack lunches for his
brothers who are in the army, camped in the valley of Elah, ready to do battle
with the Philistines.
The mothers of Israel were waiting with bated breath for any
reports from the battlefield about the fates of their sons. But nothing was happening.
Like I said, we all know the story. David walks in, and in no time he is the
hero, having killed the Philistine’s champion with a sling. Yes, David, we are all grateful.
But now he follows with a book. His arrogance was evident that first day he
walked into the camp. Like a child
watching his craftsman father making fine pottery. He clamors about: “I can do it.
I can do it. This is easy. Let me try.”
Ah, yes, and he did do it.
And, yes, David, we are all grateful.
But to come along now with a book telling us that anyone can kill giants
is a bit much. It’s like what veteran
soldiers tell us about all the time.
They get some raw recruit, and the first time they use a bow or throw a
javelin, they hit the target. They
aren’t good; they are just lucky. Some of them have the good sense to recognize
it, but others start strutting around like they are God’s gift to the nation.
The latest in a long line of soldier-heroes.
The
secret to his success, and this is not a spoiler alert here, is his faith in
God. Well, David, this is Israel. We all worship the true God. He acts like he’s the only one to believe in
the One God. But, worse, he says that
anyone can kill a giant. He doesn’t need
to go to soldier school, just learn the lessons from one’s daily life, and you
too can defeat the biggest enemies.
He
soon generalizes and makes the smallest problems of your life into
mini-Goliaths, which you can conquer by faith.
Like God is concerned about whether you make the team at school. This is almost an insult to Him, bless His
Name.
David’s answers are simplistic, even clichés. He takes his experiences and generalizes
them, as if we are all to follow his example.
All we have to do is live our lives like him, and we too can become
heroes of Israel.
David, we hear you are doing well in the army now. Your luck is holding out, but leave the books
to the scholars. Try this again in 40
years, and we will see what you have to say then. If you are still around.
0 stars
Ishaq ben Reuben
Professor of Sacred History
School of Jerusalem
