Exploring the legacy of the rationalist Rishonim (medieval Torah scholars), and various other notes, by Rabbi Dr. Natan Slifkin, director of The Biblical Museum of Natural History in Beit Shemesh. The views expressed here are those of the author, not the institution.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Monsters Vs. Israelis
In the comments to yesterday's post, many people observed that even non-charedim in Israel are often entirely unaware of rationalist approaches to Torah-science issues. I was aware of this with regard to evolution, but I hadn't realized the extent of the problem with regard to Chazal's statements about science. Although, considering the abundance of glossy anti-rationalist books on this topic by Rabbi Zamir Cohen, it shouldn't surprise me.
My book on this topic is Sacred Monsters (the expanded edition of Mysterious Creatures). The book sheds light on many different creatures that are mentioned in Tanach, Midrash and Gemara. But its greater value lies in the approaches that it presents to conflicts between Chazal and science.
There is a Hebrew translation of Sacred Monsters that has been sitting on my computer for several months. It would undoubtedly be of great value to people in Israel. However, I have been far too busy with my forthcoming encyclopedia and museum to be able to deal with getting it published. There are two ways in which people could help get this published:
1) If you live in Israel, are familiar with the Hebrew publishing industry, and can take on the task of arranging a publisher/ distributor.
2) If you can sponsor the publication of the book.
If anyone would like to be a part of this project, please write to me!
4 comments:
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How about you sell the book in advance, giving your fans a chance to buy an autographed book for, say, $150.
ReplyDeleteWhat Chaim said, or how about using Kickstarter?
ReplyDeleteMaybe start as an ebook, and then format for publish on demand? I just googled for publish on demand in Israel and came up with French Creek Press.
I'm confused, you state your books are not for the Hareidi public, then you state the Israeli Dati Leumi are similar to Hareidim in Torah science issues and seemingly use that as an argument to publish your book for that public.
ReplyDelete! אין זה אלא אומר דרשוני
Have you tried to contact Yediot Sefarim?
ReplyDeleteI think they would be your best shot for reaching a wide audience in Israel.