This got me thinking about a new book. The temptation was to make it a humorous tale based on my experience as an author in search of an audience. Something to which all writers could relate. So, sales were guaranteed.
Starting a new project is always challenging particularly so in this case since the beginning involved a trek back through the ages researching for any precedent that may have accounted for my level underachievement.
For instance, why was being enslaved in Egypt a necessary precursor for the giving of the Torah and secondly, accepting that it was a prerequisite, how do we ensure to keep the experience alive for future generations?
The second question has always remained far more problematic. Accepted we have a commandment to remember the Exodus in our daily prayers accompanied by the physical mitzvot, say of Tefillin and Mezuzah, ensuring the memory is sustained however, was by no means a foregone conclusion.
The conclusion that can be drawn seems to be by talking about the Exodus, especially the same difficult questions it inevitably throws up has a lasting value far beyond the need for a short-term fix of a satisfactory explanation.
Seven weeks after leaving Egypt, gathered on Mount Sinai for the giving of the Torah, we were witnesses to hearing the first two commandments directly from G-D, the remainder was from Moses. Surely there is no better proof that hearing really is believing!
By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and Mailchimp to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.
Consequently, I found I had concentrated more on the first intricate plot surrounding a femme fatale with two distinctive personas, who gave the run around to those trying to identify the true culprit, at the expense of the main character. Not the recipe for success you may say, when Jake was supposed to the focal point of several future episodes?
So, with half the year already gone but still with the aim of having a new work see the light of day before the end 2021, I decided to revert to the relative safety of a sequel to my second novel, Blue Skies Over Berlin, which had been on the blocks for a while. A different story surrounding a strong protagonist, again female, seemed familiar territory, what could possibly go amiss? I asked myself until I belatedly realised that there has to be a third book to bring the series to a conclusion, which involved a completely new ending and quite a bit of extra character development. Knocked off course again, perhaps, but matched with a stubborn resolve to keep at it.
Having more time on our hands has also given us the precious opportunity to try something new, whether it be a creative pursuit or reaching out to help others and thereby enjoying a sense of togetherness that may have been missing from our previously over-busy lives.
The point is that, although circumstances are different, we are no less at liberty to choose how to live, and may actually find that our existence has become enriched as a result of exercising our free will towards new and meaningful goals.
Whether it was the Exodus or the twenty first century pandemic, the willingness to expand our horizons seems, traditionally, only ever to come about through adversity. The challenge for us and for future generations is that it will not be our destiny to remain so.
This is no way underestimating the huge sense of loss inflicted on those families who were separated because of the pandemic or the struggle encountered by those with young families unable to send their children to school.
There was obviously a need for self-expression, which had lain dormant for many years. The fact that it first manifested itself in self-deprecating humour, I now understand was purely an unconscious attempt to get to know myself.
7fc3f7cf58