By A. J. Jacobs
My quest has been this: to live the ultimate biblical life. Or more precisely, to follow the bible as literally as possible. To obey the Ten Commandments, to be fruitful and multiply. To love my neighbor. To tithe my income. But also to abide by the oft-neglected rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers. To stone adulterers. And naturally to leave the edges of my beard unshaven (Leviticus 19:27). I am trying to obey the entire bible, without picking and choosing. . .I am officially Jewish but I'm Jewish in the same way the Olive Garden is an Italian Restaurant. Which is to say: not very. The closest my family came to observing Judaism was that paradoxical classic of assimilation: a star of David on top of our Christmas tree.
And why do this quest:
This project would be my visa to a spiritual world. I wouldn't just be studying religion. I'd be living it. If I had what they call a God shaped hole in my heart, this quest would allow me to fill it. If I wanted to understand my forefathers, this year would let me live like they did - but with less leprosy.
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