Night In Jerusalem

Title: NIGHT IN JERUSALEM
Author: Gaelle Lehrer Kennedy
Publisher: PKZ Inc.
Pages: 246
Genre: Historical Romance

A bewitching love story that is also an extraordinary portrait of Jerusalem, its faith, spirituality, identity, and kaleidoscope of clashing beliefs, Night in Jerusalem is a novel of mystery, beauty, historical insight, and sexual passion.

David Bennett is invited to Jerusalem in 1967 by his cousin who, to the alarm of his aristocratic British family, has embraced Judaism. He introduces David to his mentor, Reb Eli, a revered sage in the orthodox community. Despite his resistance to religious teaching, David becomes enthralled by the rabbi’s wisdom and compassionate presence. When David discloses a sexual problem, Reb Eli unwittingly sets off a chain of events that transforms his life and the life of the mysterious prostitute, Tamar, who, in a reprise of an ancient biblical story, leads both men to an astonishing realization. As passions rise, the Six Day War erupts, reshaping the lives of everyone caught up in it.

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David lay awake thinking about Anat. He was intimidated by her sexuality, but also fascinated by her free spirit and daunting intelligence. He had never met anyone like her. He wondered if Jonathan and the others knew she preferred women lovers, and why she had confided in him. He became anxious, thinking perhaps she sensed he had sexual issues and was someone she could easily manipulate. 

Earlier, out on the roof, he had asked her why she preferred women. She had answered simply, “For the same reasons you do,” then adding, “I find women more interesting intellectually, as well as sexually.” 

Her directness was equal parts frightening and exciting. He wanted to know her better. Perhaps, with her, he could get over his sexual problem. The truth was, he desired her as much as he found her intimidating.

 

Gaelle Lehrer Kennedy worked as an actress and writer in film and television in the United States and Israel. Night in Jerusalem is her debut novel, which she has adapted to film. She lives in Ojai California with her husband and daughter.

She writes, “I lived in Israel in the 1960s, a naive twenty-year-old, hoping to find myself and my place in the world. The possibility of war was remote to me. I imagined the tensions in the region would somehow be resolved peacefully. Then, the Six Day War erupted and I experienced it firsthand in Jerusalem.

I have drawn Night in Jerusalem from my experiences during that time. The historical events portrayed in the novel are accurate. The characters are based on people I knew in the city. Like me, they were struggling to make sense of their lives, responding to inherited challenges they could not escape that shaped their destiny in ways they and the entire Middle East could not have imagined.

I have always been intrigued by the miraculous. How and where the soul’s journey leads and how it reveals its destiny. How two people who are destined, even under the threat of war and extinction, can find one another.

Israel’s Six Day War is not a fiction; neither was the miracle of its victory. What better time to discover love through intrigue, passion, and the miraculous.

Writing this story was in part reliving my history in Israel, in part a mystical adventure. I am grateful that so many who have read Night In Jerusalem have experienced this as well.”

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Review: 
David Bennett travels to Jerusalem in 1967 on a journey to find himself.  His cousin Johnathan has been studying Judaism in Jerusalem and believes that his mentor, the chief rabbi, Reb Eli will be able to help David with his troubles.  David arrives in Jerusalem planning only to stay one month, however, he is quickly taken in by the beauty of the city and Reb Eli's ways.  When Reb Eli suggests that David visits a local brothel for help with his women's troubles, David is taken aback.  However, when he finally decides to visit,  David meets Tamar and his troubles seem to vanish.  Meanwhile, Reb Eli's widowed daughter, Sarah is feeling depressed and out of place without a husband or child within her Orthodox community.  Sarah longs to love once again and when a mysterious Englishman enters her home, Sarah's senses are awakened.  As David and Sarah begin their new journeys in romance, the Six Day War breaks out in the Middle East and forever alters their lives.


Recreating the biblical story of Tamar in a more modern setting, Night in Jerusalem has a fairy-tale quality to it.  I immediately felt immersed in the city of Jerusalem, from the golden glow of the city, to the quaint diners and the people of many religions mingling together.  I easily took to David and Sarah's characters as lost souls as well as Reb Eli's comforting character.  I was surprised at Reb Eil's suggestion for David's troubles as well as how sensuous many of the scenes were.  Along with learning the tale of Tamar, I learned many things about Jewish Traditions and life in Jerusalem.  The intricacies of Shabbat seemed beautiful and I wish I could have heard Sarah's singing.  The Six Day War was something else that I learned of, I had no idea that this tragedy or the reasons why it had happened.  The most interesting aspect of this story is the interwoven tale of Tamar told through David and Sarah.   Their mystery to one another kept the story suspenseful and their romance kept me intrigued.  Overall, an interesting portrait of Judaism in 1960's Jerusalem interwoven with an updated biblical story.

This book was received for  free in return for an honest review.