Timshel

Dear Readers,

Last night I finished reading my favorite book, "East of Eden", for the 7th time since 2004. It's a work of genius by John Steinbeck, a book that I consider to have the same status that most people give to religious text. Worn out, ratty, written in, and torn, my copy has reached the highest level of use that a book can aspire to. Because I love this book so much, there are a few things I would like to pass on to you. I hope you find them useful.

1. Chapter 34. Only 2 1/2 pages long, this chapter gives me the reasoning I need to live a good life. Discussing the eternal struggle of good and evil, it approaches the subject of living a life of success and wealth at the expense of others, or living a life void of wealth but full of friendship and service. I've suggested to Shay and a few of our close friends that if nothing else is said at my funeral, this chapter must be read. Here's a tasty little morsel of Chapter 34 for you to enjoy: "In uncertainty I am certain that underneath their topmost layers of frailty men want to be good and want to be loved. Indeed, most of their vices are attempted short cuts to love. When a man comes to die, no matter what his talents and influence and genius, if he dies unloved his life must be a failure to him and his dying a cold horror. It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of thought or action, we should remember our dying and try so to live that our death brings no pleasure to the world." Genius, isn't it?

2. Samuel Hamilton. The character of Samuel Hamilton is based on John Steinbeck's maternal grandfather. Jolly, funny, clever, and a self made intellectual, Samuel is the embodiment of the best sides of humankind. His character reminds me of the men in my life that I adore, but all for different reasons. My Grandpa Cal for his self education and conversation. My Grandpa Jack for his craftiness. My dad for his gift of humor and speech and his love of reading. And when Samuel describes his affection for his unproductive ranch, "I love that dust heap...I love it the way a bitch loves her runty pup. I love every flint, the plow-breaking outcroppings, the thin and barren topsoil, the waterless heart of her. Somewhere in my dust heap there's a richness..." I can't help but get a little homesick for Rupert.

3. Timshel. The book East of Eden is based on the story of Cain and Abel, sixteen verses from the 4th chapter of Genesis in the Bible. 601 glorious pages of literature based on 16 verses of scripture. Lee, another wonderful central character (described as a "philosopher who can cook, or a cook who can think") goes to great lengths to study a one word inconsistency that he found in the verses of Cain and Abel. One translation says "thou shalt", another translation says "do thou", but the literal hebrew translation (which Lee finds after years of study with his Chinese elders) is the word "timshel" which translates to mean "thou mayest". I can't describe the importance better than Lee, so I'll just put it down in his words: "Don't you see? The American Standard translation orders men to triumph over sin, and you can call sin ignorance. The King James translation makes a promise that 'thou shalt;, meaning that men will surely triumph over sin. But the Hebrew word, the word timshel--'Thou mayest'--that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if 'Thou mayest'--it is also true that 'Thou mayest not.'" I could write an entire dissertation on this concept; it gives us the choice, it holds us responsible. Really, I love to talk about this concept, so please humor me one day in a coffee shop and let me have a chance to go on and on about it!

Well, there's a smidgen of the glory that is called "East of Eden". Perhaps us impious types have to latch on to whatever philosophies make a lick of sense to us to grasp onto as a type of faith. I'm convinced that not any one man has the answers to the secrets of life and beyond, but between Steinbeck, Salinger, Vonnegut, and Garfield I'm learning to put some of the pieces together. Props to my dad for introducing me to Steinbeck, and for instilling in me a love of reading that surpasses most everything else in my life.

Sincerely,
h.