One of the pleasure of marriage is combining your separate collections of things until they no longer are "yours" or "mine" or "just ours." This happened to me in many ways, not least of all for books. One of the many books I stumbled across on our bookshelf at home was In the Land of Israel by Amos Oz (my copy has been languishing for years on a shelf in my study at the synagogue). There is much to be said about this classic piece, but I am fortunate that is has been said already here by Jonathan Freedland here.
Freedland writes of Oz that he has
"an aching kind of patriotism, a love of his people which sometimes forces him into the most stinging criticism. He cannot help it: he loves Israel so much, he wants it to do better. As I read the book, I saw that there need be no contradiction. You could want the best for Israel - and still open your eyes wide to its flaws..."
Too true. As the bloggers say, "hat tip" (and happy belated anniversary) to Adam. I will let you know what other books I can claim as family-by-marriage in the months ahead.
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