Tsholofelo Lehaha

MegaloPyschia, with an apt definition, has been a rather distinguishable reading experience. The merge between first person and educational tone is utilisable for both learning and keeping the element of a literary element. While Rami noted that his greatest fear is ignorance, mine is oblivion. Departure from this value has been able to reveal itself in how the book unfolds itself, and how Rami authored the book. I thought I knew enough about Judaism, but the book begged me the question — was it oblivion to not impart myself with such knowledge, or was it simply ignorance? I could argue that it is both.  This book is an ultimately different take on Judaism as a religion and a cultural heritage. To begin with, MegaloPsychia confronted me with the occupation of Jewish writers in the literary world. As a writer myself, unpicking some of the writers I grew up reading and their upbringing background enlightened me. Authors such as Elie Wiesel, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Imre Kertész, Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky, and Nadine Gordimer have explored a myriad of themes that have sparked a lot of resonance.  The linking of Judaism and other disciplines such as (psychology, journalism, law, politics, history, and science), made me look into them differently, especially after reading part two of the book.  The connection between diamonds and Jewish culture, as well as the historical symbolism, was outstanding. Rami has you gazing into different religions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and their close relation in a highly enlightening way. I wish I had this sort of book to source from during my undergraduate, studying philosophy of religion. It would have been phenomenal to use his views on monotheism and philosophy. Rami uses a lot of substantial bits to support Monoethism, there is a testimony by a Jewish professor, James Tour who explores the impossibility of the appearance of life from pure abiotic chemical sources, random molecular collision, and time. There is also a quote in another part of the book: “Many great empires rose and fell since 4000 years ago when the Jewish Babylonian period started to be recorded in the Bible with Abraham, the father of the Monotheistic religions…and what is left of them is only a memory or decadent countries.” The trail of of adversity this book shows is a great learning point, I was able to trace it back to the enslavement in Egypt to the covenant at Mount Sinai, the narrative traces the indomitable spirit of the Jewish people and their faith in God's promises. What I would have appreciated to have read more about was women, other than those from the entertainment industry, as it would have accommodated a solid intersectional approach when it comes to adversities of gender and religion.  Another fascinating concept was from the chapter, ‘The Jewish Hero or Heroine’, a totally different view of what a heroine is in modern English and literary culture. It raises a lot of questions from feminist views, around the “Esther, and the “Good Woman” notion.