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The Forgotten Commandment
Locked in a vacuum-sealed glass tube, stowed away for centuries in the Vatican Secret Archives, is a manuscript appearing to be an animal rights fable but containing a dire prophetic message about humanity's destruction of the world's environment. Will it help humans to finally wake up and save life on the earth? The Forgotten Commandment is a work of historical eco-fiction. It braids together a genuine thousand-year-old fable, written first in Arabic by Muslim Sufis and, in this story, protected by the Jewish Aboab clan beginning at the time of the First Crusade in Jerusalem, traveling to twentieth century Europe and surviving the deadly perils of World War II, then reappearing in the present, when a pair of young scholars rediscover the manuscript and succeed in revealing it to the world. A story for our times, The Forgotten Commandment is deeply researched and enriched with true historical events and the lives of actual people. The characters contend with the many challenges and evils that humanity has tyranny, anti-Semitism, prejudice, enslavement and destruction of animals, and the apathy of the majority. In the end, this book shines with hope as humanity begins to change the path we have been treading.
269 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 9, 2024
4 people want to read
About the author
Anson Hugh Laytner
9 books1 followerAnson Laytner is a happily retired rabbi, living in Seattle, whose career focused on building positive interfaith and interethnic relations in our community.
During his career, he served as program manager for Seattle University School of Theology and Ministry's Interreligious Initiative, as a hospice chaplain at the Kline Galland Home and a grant-writer for the Jewish Family Service of Seattle, as interim rabbi at Congregation Kol HaNeshamah, and as executive director of the Seattle Chapter of the American Jewish Committee and of Multifaith Works, a Seattle non-profit agency that served people with AIDS. He also directed the Seattle Jewish Federation's Community Relations Council.
He is the author of the cult classic “Arguing with God”; “The Mystery of Suffering and the Meaning of God”; “Choosing Life After Tragedy”; and his first (and probably only) novel “The Forgotten Commandment”. He co-authored with Dan Bridge, “The Animals’ Lawsuit Against Humanity” and co-edited with Jordan Paper “The Chinese Jews of Kaifeng”.
As a volunteer, Laytner serves as president of the Sino-Judaic Institute (www.sinojudaic.org) and edits its journal, Points East. He is a past president of Northwest Interfaith and also served on the advisory board of End of Life Washington. He is an active supporter of the New Israel Fund and J Street.
Laytner has a BA, summa cum laude, from York University in Toronto, a Masters of Hebrew Letters (MAHL) and rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College, a Masters in Not-for-Profit Leadership (MNPL) from Seattle University, and an honorary Doctorate in Divinity from Hebrew Union College.
Rabbi Laytner is married to Richelle Harrell. He has two living daughters, three sons-in-law and five grandkids.
For more information or to contact him, go to www.ansonlaytner.com.
During his career, he served as program manager for Seattle University School of Theology and Ministry's Interreligious Initiative, as a hospice chaplain at the Kline Galland Home and a grant-writer for the Jewish Family Service of Seattle, as interim rabbi at Congregation Kol HaNeshamah, and as executive director of the Seattle Chapter of the American Jewish Committee and of Multifaith Works, a Seattle non-profit agency that served people with AIDS. He also directed the Seattle Jewish Federation's Community Relations Council.
He is the author of the cult classic “Arguing with God”; “The Mystery of Suffering and the Meaning of God”; “Choosing Life After Tragedy”; and his first (and probably only) novel “The Forgotten Commandment”. He co-authored with Dan Bridge, “The Animals’ Lawsuit Against Humanity” and co-edited with Jordan Paper “The Chinese Jews of Kaifeng”.
As a volunteer, Laytner serves as president of the Sino-Judaic Institute (www.sinojudaic.org) and edits its journal, Points East. He is a past president of Northwest Interfaith and also served on the advisory board of End of Life Washington. He is an active supporter of the New Israel Fund and J Street.
Laytner has a BA, summa cum laude, from York University in Toronto, a Masters of Hebrew Letters (MAHL) and rabbinic ordination from Hebrew Union College, a Masters in Not-for-Profit Leadership (MNPL) from Seattle University, and an honorary Doctorate in Divinity from Hebrew Union College.
Rabbi Laytner is married to Richelle Harrell. He has two living daughters, three sons-in-law and five grandkids.
For more information or to contact him, go to www.ansonlaytner.com.
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May 29, 2024
Review of The Forgotten Commandment
The story of the Animals’ Complaint starts with the first of the book’s several interfaith conversations, in Jerusalem in 1099. The European Infidel crusaders are fast approaching, and Ismael, a devout Muslim who is dying without progeny, asks his old friend Rabbi Ezra to translate and memorize a sacred text that has been handed down for generations. It is itself an ancient interfaith document, which foretells calamitous consequences if humans don’t take much better care of animals, planet Earth, and each other.
And in the first of several hasty departures in the book, Ezra hurriedly leaves Jerusalem and his family for Denia, Spain. From there, we’re in Amsterdam and then Berlin in the 1940’s with a young, budding Zionist, Benjamin Aboab, who meets and debates with a conservative Catholic cardinal. Then on to present day Seattle, Boston and Toronto, following the academic career of liberal Catholic Adrian, who endeavors to develop a theology that supports environmental engagement by people of all faiths. Adrian meets Sophie and her Holocaust survivor grandparents, who have kept the document for safekeeping since they were in hiding from the Nazis and their friend disappeared helping Jewish children across the Alps. They allow Adrian and Sophie to take the document for study; those two go to work on translating the old Hebrew while having interfaith discussions between themselves. Their search for the missing conclusion of The Animal’s Complaint leads them to the secret archives of the Vatican Library where they face increasingly violent interference by conservative Catholic cardinals.
The Forgotten Commandment chafes against the orthodoxy of the major religions in every era that prohibit rational interpretations of ancient texts. Adrian notes that “…more often than not, religion has impeded our development and hindered our growth.” Sophie points out, “Every religion, even one founded on love and compassion, must deal with its zealots.” The book argues with God. It points to the Talmud saying that one may violate the Sabbath rules if a life is in danger.
Benjamin’s Wartime Diary describes real communities, like the remarkable French village of Le Chambon, and relief agencies such as the American Relief Center in Marseille that took big risks to help Jews, as well as individuals who offered surprising kindness. The twists and turns of his journey, and frequent strokes of luck, have him doubting his own rationalism and considering his wife’s belief in guardian angels.
Suspense increases as the document becomes known and is shared in a present day world-wide interfaith conference. The Complaint of the Animals, set down in lively and sometimes humorous testimonies by various species, concludes with dire warnings from the Great Mother, which Sophie reveals at the start of the conference. Prominent real-life experts in earthquakes and plagues and the Gaia theory offer many examples that the warnings are already upon us. The ending is a reminder that traditional religious resistance remains very powerful, even as the conference concludes with consensus and resolve that the change must begin with us.
Through the historical sweep of the novel, from the terrible Crusades to the Inquisition and expulsion of Jews from Spain and Portugal to the Nazi persecution in Europe to considerations of the many genocides, earthquakes and pandemics of modern times, the book circles back to essential questions: Where is God for the Jews who have for centuries been mistreated like the animals who complain in the manuscript? How is it that good people stand up to the evil around them and courageously help those oppressed while most others go along with the evil? Why are people so easily drawn into religious and political ideologies? Why does religion motivate violence and cruelty?
The Forgotten Commandment reads often like a thesis, thoroughly researched, rich in references; Benjamin’s Wartime Diary is so harrowing and realistic (and at times, funny) that of course it is based on an individual’s lived experience. Woven throughout is an engaging, adventurous, very human story unfolding over generations. This is a serious, determined novel with its eye on the ball.
The story of the Animals’ Complaint starts with the first of the book’s several interfaith conversations, in Jerusalem in 1099. The European Infidel crusaders are fast approaching, and Ismael, a devout Muslim who is dying without progeny, asks his old friend Rabbi Ezra to translate and memorize a sacred text that has been handed down for generations. It is itself an ancient interfaith document, which foretells calamitous consequences if humans don’t take much better care of animals, planet Earth, and each other.
And in the first of several hasty departures in the book, Ezra hurriedly leaves Jerusalem and his family for Denia, Spain. From there, we’re in Amsterdam and then Berlin in the 1940’s with a young, budding Zionist, Benjamin Aboab, who meets and debates with a conservative Catholic cardinal. Then on to present day Seattle, Boston and Toronto, following the academic career of liberal Catholic Adrian, who endeavors to develop a theology that supports environmental engagement by people of all faiths. Adrian meets Sophie and her Holocaust survivor grandparents, who have kept the document for safekeeping since they were in hiding from the Nazis and their friend disappeared helping Jewish children across the Alps. They allow Adrian and Sophie to take the document for study; those two go to work on translating the old Hebrew while having interfaith discussions between themselves. Their search for the missing conclusion of The Animal’s Complaint leads them to the secret archives of the Vatican Library where they face increasingly violent interference by conservative Catholic cardinals.
The Forgotten Commandment chafes against the orthodoxy of the major religions in every era that prohibit rational interpretations of ancient texts. Adrian notes that “…more often than not, religion has impeded our development and hindered our growth.” Sophie points out, “Every religion, even one founded on love and compassion, must deal with its zealots.” The book argues with God. It points to the Talmud saying that one may violate the Sabbath rules if a life is in danger.
Benjamin’s Wartime Diary describes real communities, like the remarkable French village of Le Chambon, and relief agencies such as the American Relief Center in Marseille that took big risks to help Jews, as well as individuals who offered surprising kindness. The twists and turns of his journey, and frequent strokes of luck, have him doubting his own rationalism and considering his wife’s belief in guardian angels.
Suspense increases as the document becomes known and is shared in a present day world-wide interfaith conference. The Complaint of the Animals, set down in lively and sometimes humorous testimonies by various species, concludes with dire warnings from the Great Mother, which Sophie reveals at the start of the conference. Prominent real-life experts in earthquakes and plagues and the Gaia theory offer many examples that the warnings are already upon us. The ending is a reminder that traditional religious resistance remains very powerful, even as the conference concludes with consensus and resolve that the change must begin with us.
Through the historical sweep of the novel, from the terrible Crusades to the Inquisition and expulsion of Jews from Spain and Portugal to the Nazi persecution in Europe to considerations of the many genocides, earthquakes and pandemics of modern times, the book circles back to essential questions: Where is God for the Jews who have for centuries been mistreated like the animals who complain in the manuscript? How is it that good people stand up to the evil around them and courageously help those oppressed while most others go along with the evil? Why are people so easily drawn into religious and political ideologies? Why does religion motivate violence and cruelty?
The Forgotten Commandment reads often like a thesis, thoroughly researched, rich in references; Benjamin’s Wartime Diary is so harrowing and realistic (and at times, funny) that of course it is based on an individual’s lived experience. Woven throughout is an engaging, adventurous, very human story unfolding over generations. This is a serious, determined novel with its eye on the ball.
Displaying 1 of 1 review