Something strange happens to seemingly rational people when they start examining their roots – especially if their roots can be found in a certain old Middle Eastern book. A.J. Jacobs provides perhaps the ultimate example in his latest stunt, in which he spends a year obeying every single commandment in both the Old and New Testaments.
This meant obeying the commandment not to shave his beard, tithing his income (after taxes, no less) and not touching a woman who might be on her menstrual cycle (basically everybody). It also meant putting up a Sukkoth tent in his living room when the landlord wouldn’t let him use the roof, writing the 10 Commandments on his door and procuring a slave (a.k.a., an intern) to treat according to all the Bible’s obscure slave/master rules. I wondered whether Jacobs’ day job as an Esquire editor wasn’t a violation of the commandment against gossip . . . but I guess Jacobs couldn’t afford to be that hardcore.
To his credit, Jacobs, who read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica for his previous book, “The Know It All,” makes an earnest effort at capturing the spirit, as well as the letter, of the laws.
With each passing day Jacobs begins to take greater pleasure in worldly things because he is commanded to thank God for them. He’s commanded to be kind to strangers and as he does so they become more important to him.
I wondered if, after 12 months, Jacobs would keep his beard and his weird religious lifestyle. I’m not going to divulge the end. Better to immerse yourself. Jacobs is a good guide and you’ll find the trip rewarding.
The Year of Living Biblically
One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
by A.J. Jacobs
Simon & Schuster