Author Archives: RF_Alum

The Aleppo Codex: A True Story of Obsession, Faith, and the Pursuit of an Ancient Bible

Posted on by

Reviewed by Kathy London

aleppo-codexThis book by Matti Friedman is a fascinating and unexpected tale.  Friedman says “I expected to write a heartening story about the rescue of this book… [instead] its story is a tragedy of human weakness.”

To read this book, it is important to understand why the Codex is important.  Jews dispersed across the world have no central institution to maintain their religion.  They have only their Bible.  Reading the text with the utmost precision is imperative; even the tune to which the text is chanted is important.  There may be knowledge in the Bible’s exact words not understood today, that will be understood in the future.  But the Hebrew Bible was originally written without vowels or punctuation.  Key knowledge on how to read the Bible had been handed down orally for centuries, but that teaching was lost in the Diaspora.

Ancient scholars set out to compile authoritative Bibles which included symbols for vowels, punctuation, and emphasis.  As scholarly works, they were sewn together into books – called codices – rather than written on scrolls as required for ritual use.  A thousand years ago, after centuries of effort, the final text of the Bible was accepted.  All other Bibles were to be based on this one text, which became known as the Aleppo Codex or The Crown. Continue reading →

Moot Point

Posted on by

World Wide Words has an excellent discussion of the origin of this term and how the meaning has changed completely over the centuries. It began as “meet” in medieval England, and it was often spelled “mot” or “mote.” When something was put up for discussion and debate to reach a decision it was “mooted.” Law students later began using the word “moot” to describe their debates of hypothetical issues. The outcome was unimportant since the issues were invented to help them improve their debating skills. The result was “…a curious shift in which the sense of ‘open to debate’ has become ‘not worth debating’.” The discussion also warns against using the incorrect “mute” to substitute for “moot.”

Cost an Arm and a Leg

Posted on by

The Phrase Finder reports that this expression is often incorrectly said to come from the increased cost charged by painters based in part on the number of limbs that would be shown.  However, the phrase originated in America sometime after World War II, and is intended to reflect that the cost of something would be enormous. It is possible the phrase references the high cost paid by soldiers who had lost an arm or leg in the war. It is more likely the origin was nineteenth century phrases “I would give my right arm for…and [Even] if it takes a leg.”

Thunderstruck

Posted on by

thunderstruckThis is the third book I’ve read by Erik Larson, and it is by far my least favorite. My wife, who is my primary literary advisor, bought the book and eventually announced she couldn’t finish it. She commented something to the effect that she “…would just have to wait for my review.” So, here it is.

The book attempts to weave the story of the efforts of Guglielmo Marconi to develop the wireless telegraph and the life story of Hawley Harvey Crippen, the man who was convicted of the North Cellar Murder, into a single novel. There is certainly an abundance of details about Marconi, wireless transmissions, and the people in his life. However, I came to dislike him the more I read about him. Crippen is portrayed as a meek and somewhat uninteresting man who is convicted of murdering and mutilating his wife. The wife was outgoing and interesting when with friends and was irritatingly and persistently obnoxious to Crippen when they were alone. Continue reading →

Benghazi–What Difference Does It Make

Posted on by

I have been astonished at the lack of attention given by several major media outlets to the attack in Benghazi, Libya that killed four Americans, including our ambassador to that country. I understand that many in the media did not want anything to distract the voting public from re-electing Mr. Obama. They apparently now do not want anything to get in the way if Hillary Clinton chooses to run in 2016. Perhaps that’s why there was little media criticism when Clinton responded to a question whether the attack was a spontaneous protest or an organized terrorist attack. “Was it a protest or is it because of guys out on a walk one night and they decide they would go kill some Americans?”What difference, at this point, does it make?” The media celebrated the “brilliance” and emotion of her response. I was appalled at her response. Continue reading →

United States Had Hottest Year Ever

Posted on by

Fans of global warming have been celebrating that the U.S. had the highest average recorded temperature in 2012, and the national media was full of stories about the horrors to come. Reports that indicate there is no global warming trend were displayed less prominently. One report mentioned that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that the average temperature for the entire world barely made it into being one of the top ten years. The average was 58 degrees Fahrenheit, which is a full degree above the twentieth century average.

Another article that did gain a rather large headline on page 19A of the January 6, 2013 Denver Post reports that China is experiencing unusually cold weather. The national average temperatures are the lowest in almost three decades. Snow and ice have created havoc and knocked out power in several provinces. That information should be remarkable to advocates of the theory that global warming is being caused by man’s carbon dioxide emission, since China has been busy outstripping the U.S. in those emissions. Continue reading →