I'm currently reading The Light of the World by Elizabeth Alexander. As the blurb on the inside cover says: "The Light of the World is at once an endlessly compelling memoir and a deeply felt meditation on the blessings of love, family, art, and community. It is also a lyrical celebration of a life well-lived and a paean to the enduring gift of human companionship. For those who have loved and lost, or for anyone who cares what matters most, The Light of the World is required reading."This memoir is written after the death of her Eritrean husband, Ficre. He died suddenly at age 50 leaving her with their two sons aged 12 and 14.
In one description of her husband and his love of books she writes: "Rabbi Ponet writes about Jews as a book-loving people, and the erotics of the book. He imagines us dancing with the books we find sacred. I can see Ficre dancing with the books he loved. When he was a child one of his nicknames at Italian school was "mangia-libro", book eater, he loved them that much."
I identify with being a "book eater"! Since early childhood books have been my delight and my refuge. When I spent many days home from school with bronchitis, books were my companions. I could enter the world of the Famous Five, or Heidi, or missionaries in darkest Africa, while tucked up in bed. Clearly my interests were well balanced!!
Books have been companions all through my life. Wide-ranging interests continue too. Currently I might be reading the latest science (lay person's version!), novels, memoirs, theology, ecology, mysticism... More and more I like the idea of being a book eater because food that is eaten becomes part of the bodily substance and energy of the one who eats. I can easily forget the details of books I've read but I console myself that what is important will have been absorbed by a sort of "osmosis" - or, with this new image, "digested" - and somehow part of me.
Back to Rabbi Ponet and his comment about Jews... I call to mind one of the visions Ezekiel received where he was told to "eat this scroll":
"And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.
Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.”
So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth." Ezekiel 3:1-3
The fact that I remember this rather obscure Scripture suggests that my theory is correct! I've "eaten" scripture steadily over the years too - and here it is, not totally forgotten, just filed away somewhere until I need it! (PS I did have to look up the chapter and verse!)
