Rosh Hashanah Reading: The Iliad

#whatireadoverroshhashanah The Iliad, translated by E. V. Rieu (Penguin Classics, 1950)

I would have preferred a book in the spirit of Rosh Hashanah, but the Iliad is so much the opposite it throws into relief what the holiday is all about. On Rosh Hashanah we ask to be recorded in the Book of Life; the Iliad is an entry in the Book of Death. It is a war story, told in brutal detail. Forgiveness is asked of no action and the gods are petitioned only to bring success in battle. Philosopher Simone Weil called the Iliad “the poem of force” because its subject is the power to turn human beings into lifeless things. As the Jewish year starts over, the main theme, in happy contrast, is our restoration to life and full humanity.