In the Courtyard of the Kabbalist (Audible Audio Edition) Ruchama King Feuerman Sam Guncler Inc Blackstone Audio Books
Download As PDF : In the Courtyard of the Kabbalist (Audible Audio Edition) Ruchama King Feuerman Sam Guncler Inc Blackstone Audio Books
Isaac Markowitz, an eczema-riddled Lower East Side haberdasher, moves to Israel to repair his broken heart and becomes, much to his own surprise, the assistant to a famous old rabbi who dispenses wisdom (and soup) to the troubled souls who wash up in his courtyard. It is there that he meets the flame-haired Tamar, a newly religious young American hipster on a mission to live a spiritual life with a spiritual man. Into both of their lives comes Mustafa, a devout Muslim who, deformed at birth, makes his living as a janitor on the Temple Mount, holy to both Muslims and Jews.
When Mustafa finds an ancient shard of pottery that may date back to the first temple, he brings it to Isaac as a token of friendship. That gesture sets in motion a series of events that lands Isaac in the company of Israel's worst criminal riffraff, puts Mustafa in mortal danger, and leaves Tamar struggling to save them both.
As these characters - immigrants and natives, Muslim and Jewish, prophets and lost souls - move through their world, they are never sure if they will fall prey to the cruel tricks of luck or be sheltered by a higher power.
In the Courtyard of the Kabbalist (Audible Audio Edition) Ruchama King Feuerman Sam Guncler Inc Blackstone Audio Books
The novel, set in Israel, presents a beautiful mix of love, acceptance, romance and politics. An American Jewish man looking for self-fulfillment moves to Jerusalem and becomes involved in learning Torah with a Rebbe and his wife. Unexpected, kindly gestures to a crippled Arab and lonely Jewish woman change his life.The author realistically describes the politics in Israel, the religious Jews disallowed to pray at the Temple Mount, the Jewish government squeezed between Jewish factions, the religious and the secular, and the enmity of the Arabs demonstrated by riots with any mention of Jewish claim to the Temple Mount, as Arabs scavenge the precious antiquities and artifacts of the Temple.
The beautifully depicted characters breathe life into the plot, characters who dream, hope and dare for acceptance. The colorful figures easily advance the plot and the story holds mystery throughout. Feuerman stays clear of stereotypes, yet describes sensitive scenes of delicate interactions between characters of the different faiths, the same faiths, and, as well, of those of diverse socio-economic realms. The author also offers knowledgeable tidbits of Torah, Talmudic and Islamic teachings.
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In the Courtyard of the Kabbalist (Audible Audio Edition) Ruchama King Feuerman Sam Guncler Inc Blackstone Audio Books Reviews
It took me a while to wade into this book. I put it down for a while and then picked it up again after a couple of months or more. It is a wonderful story centering on two men with a similar problem - feeling like an outsider. Only one is an Arab and the other a Religious Jew. The come together and forge a different type of friendship one that wouldn't be totally accepted in either man's world. The story moves along quickly once you get past the first chapters, you start to care about the two men, Tamar who comes to Israel looking to lead a holy life and find her soul mate. This book isn't for everyone, but if you know Israel, about Kabbalah, Jerusalem and the Holy Sites, this story will appeal to you.
In the Courtyard of the Kabbalist is an engaging, beautifully crafted and courageous novel that shatters stereotypes, going beyond the geopolitical tension of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount to reveal the internal struggles and compassion of the heart. Against this backdrop is a multi-layered story of friendship between a lonely Arab janitor -- afflicted with a crooked neck and abandoned by his family -- and a single Jewish man who leaves his unfulfilling life in New York and finds his way as the assistant to a rabbi with “a gift for analyzing difficulties of the soul.”
The story deepens with both intrigue as the Jerusalem police tail Isaac – he accepted as a gift a rare antiquity from the Temple Mount, thereby endangering the State of Israel -- and a budding romance between Isaac and the beautifully quirky Tamar. As in her previous novel, Seven Blessings, Feuerman has a gift for capturing the pulse of Jerusalem in the details, from riding the buses and blind dating at a hotel lobby to buying vegetables in the souk. Here, her writing soars in the deep compassion she evokes for the broken supplicants who drift into the courtyard of the kabbalist’s cottage waiting their turn for his life-sustaining words.
The poignant and sometimes hilarious descriptions -- a man weeping behind his briefcase, a barren midwife, an old lady in pink biker shorts -- suggest that everyone needs fixing and spiritual sustenance in some way or other. Feuerman beautifully captures the transformative power of a kind word spoken when Isaac tells the lonely Mustafa he is doing holy work by keeping the Temple Mount clean. He is lifted by his newfound dignity.
Feuerman weaves a multiplicity of themes into a story as deliciously satisfying, rich and authentic as a fresh Jerusalem pita still warm from the bakery.
Since I had loved Ruchama King Feurman's previous book, I looked forward to this one eagerly.
However, I was disappointed. The book had the same deep emotional insight into characters and it didn't refrain from avoiding flaws. However, I felt the characterization of Tamar was lacking. I didn't feel like I really knew what made her tick, what she thought and felt, how she would react in different situations. I didn't read any chemistry in the relationship between her and Isaac, and didn't understand why she would be interested in someone like Isaac. This may have a lot to do with my personal dislike of Isaac's personality and lifestyle. I don't like overemphasis on spiritual gurus. So my personal likes and dislikes probably colored my feelings about this novel.
Also, I felt the story got out of control and overly dramatic at the end with the whole imprisonment, police, and wall-falling plot. The story didn't need any more drama- what was going on with the characters was dramatic enough.
I also didn't like the whole Arab/Israeli conflict being brought into this. I know this was an attempt to be a lot more human and sensitive than what's out there- I just personally don't like the whole situation and talk about it gets me uncomfortable.
In sum, a lot of what I didn't like about the book were due to my own personal tastes, and also the lack of Tamar's characterization, her and Isaac's chemistry, and the melodrama at the end.
Oh, well. I'll just go and reread Seven Blessings for the fourth time. )
The novel, set in Israel, presents a beautiful mix of love, acceptance, romance and politics. An American Jewish man looking for self-fulfillment moves to Jerusalem and becomes involved in learning Torah with a Rebbe and his wife. Unexpected, kindly gestures to a crippled Arab and lonely Jewish woman change his life.
The author realistically describes the politics in Israel, the religious Jews disallowed to pray at the Temple Mount, the Jewish government squeezed between Jewish factions, the religious and the secular, and the enmity of the Arabs demonstrated by riots with any mention of Jewish claim to the Temple Mount, as Arabs scavenge the precious antiquities and artifacts of the Temple.
The beautifully depicted characters breathe life into the plot, characters who dream, hope and dare for acceptance. The colorful figures easily advance the plot and the story holds mystery throughout. Feuerman stays clear of stereotypes, yet describes sensitive scenes of delicate interactions between characters of the different faiths, the same faiths, and, as well, of those of diverse socio-economic realms. The author also offers knowledgeable tidbits of Torah, Talmudic and Islamic teachings.
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