The Gate Behind the Wall: A Pilgrimage to Jerusalem Book

Interesting but laborious, as though every detail in any given room felt worth noting whether it was worth reading about or not. The author's journey through different shuls and study groups was certainly a spiritual odyssey for him, but for the reader, it was just a recollection of what people wore in this room v. that one. It is implicit that Torah and Talmud are vital parts of a Jewish life, but a reader who is not also steeped in written and oral Jewish tradition might believe that the men encountered in the book only depend on "lernen" because they have nothing else to do. There is no explication of what precisely these resources add to a life beyond Tevye's "tradition." Where is the lost or wretched man whose life is set aright by Mishna and Gemara? Where are the problems in the author's life that seem intractable until he acquires the wisdom of our fathers to forge a just solution?
Instead we get what sort of furniture or chandelier or book binding he encounters in each house of worship he visits.