Set in a pre-Christian setting, a group of young Jewish men and women gather around the Rabbi seeking answers for questions about creation, life, and death. The author takes the role of the Rabbi and gives enlightenment and thought-provoking answers using, and limited to, only the first three chapters of Genesis.
There are several insightful messages that stood out for me, including the importance of asking for forgiveness for restoration and our relationship to God in death.
I think the most valuable aspect of this book is in the lessons we can learn about how to engage our young people to read, study and interpret the scriptures. This question and answer method is going to have a more lasting impression than would a teacher or church leader who approaches subjects with lectures and rigidity. If we allow them to ask questions without condemnation or ridicule, and then give answers that will require reflection and more study about the subject, they will learn discernment.
This is a short book, easy to read, and beautifully written. My favorite two quotes from this book:
“We are the expression of God’s life within the limits of time and space.”
“When they (life and earth) separate, we die. Earth goes back to the ground and life goes back to join the creator. Thus our life and God's life are one, and so we have no death.”
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