The Spiritual Fires of Meron

“If Jerusalem is the heart of our people”, writes Gittel Marcus “then the Galilee is the imagination. The fires of Meron travel from mountain top to mountain top throughout the land, just like in times of old.”

So concludes the first chapter of her collection, Night Tales of Meron Mountain,** a magical mix of stories for young people based on the lives and deeds of Jewish heroes of antiquity - and several contemporary characters of her invention.

I must own a personal interest in the author and her book as Meron is a small village not far from where we first met in Karmiel, western  Galilee, Israel. It is the largest town in the area and where, she points out, many modern Meron residents work, study and shop.

As the US-born author includes an extensive bibliography and explanatory notes, the book should appeal both to religious Jewish families and those non-Jewish teachers and their students wishing to learn more about the background to Orthodox Judaism and a little of the lives of its Israeli adherents. 

**Night Tales of Meron Mountain is available from Amazon on Kindle @ $3.99 and in Paperback @ $7.50.

© Natalie Wood (05 May 2017)