"AN EPIC STORY THAT YOU CAN'T PUT DOWN" A powerful 2,000 year old story ... two families engaging with the realities of Muslim, Jewish and Christian culture in Israel ... significant opportunity for forgiveness and peace ... an epic story that you can't put down... Steve and Marie Goode, Authors "Bring Your Eyes and See; Justice, Compassion and Action" Bangkok, Thailand Shibboleth[shib e -lith, -leth] Noun 1.a test 2.a word or custom whose variations in pronunciation or style is used to differentiate members of groups, races, or classes 3. "ear" of grain. From Hebrew: first used in Judges 12:5-6, a word by which one group, the Gileadites, identified, trapped, and executed their enemies who could not pronounce sh correctly (a story never heard in Sunday School). Islam, Judaism, Christianity, historic sources of love, good deeds, and war come together in the most unimaginable setting-Jerusalem-notorious for violence, forgiveness, redemption. Adolescent adventure but with some adult themes: Abortion Female mutilation, ie, FGM Forced marriage Bullying Honor killing Apologetics Middle Eastern Conflict These three contrasting world views are represented by three families who "accidentally" come together in the West Bank-A New York financier and family (Jewish), a Midwestern salesman and family ("nominal" Christian), and a Palestinian family (Muslim). And of course, there is a kid whose curiosity will always get the better of him. They unmask each other's stereotypes as they read previously undiscovered documents from the first century. Meanwhile, Israeli security scrambles to protect them from themselves. FROM THE BOOK: The lady continued, "Have you heard the word, shibboleth? It means test. It comes from a story in the Tanakh. Our people fashioned a checkpoint where they asked travelers to say shibboleth. It's exactly like our word schedule. If someone pronounces schedule with an sh sound, you know they are from Britain. So if these people stumbled on the sh and said sibboleth, our people took them over to the side of the road and gave them a dagger right about here." and she pointed to her abdomen." Jen's face could not conceal her suspicion. "I know what you're thinking," the lady continued. "'Why didn't they teach me this in Sunday School?' you'd like to know. Not a great story for the little kids." That may be, Jen thought, but Mic is gonna love this one. The lady grabbed a piece of paper. "See this letter here," and she wrote it- "That dot on the upper right makes it a Shin. If you can pronounce the Shin, you live. Otherwise-" she paused for drama. "Off with your head. Jen was on emotional overload by this time. "Jeepers," she whispered, mostly to herself. "What'd they do with all those heads." But really her mind was on Ari, who says 'salaam' without the sh. Jen gave the lady a far away stare and said, "It looks like the difference is still with us." "That's it," the lady responded. "We say 'shalom' and they say 'salaam.' It's our last shibboleth." "I think I've got it," Jen responded. "Salaam over there. Shalom over here. Salaam, Shalom," and she pointed back and forth. "All we're missing now is the peace."
About the Author: Mark Andrew Ritchie grew up with Moslems in Afghanistan, spent his career trading with Jewish people in the pits of Chicago, and was raised in a Christian environment. These three widely divergent subcultures have given him an unparalleled perspective with which to conceive The Last Shibboleth, which forces these subcultures to interact. In addition to his childhood in the poverty of Afghanistan, the deep south of Texas, and an Oregon-coast logging town, he has lived, worked, or visited every continent. The Vietnam War crystallized his love of rebellion. He became an occupational vagabond-funeral home operative, Chicago Transit bus driver, gambler, long-haul trucker, jail guard, and more. After graduate studies in philosophy of religion, he went straight to the take-no-prisoners financial markets of Chicago. (Everyone in those pits comes from somewhere very different.) It was an unlikely backdrop for launching a career in finance where he became one of four founding partners of CRT, a certified yelling and screaming floor trader, a participant in Schwager's, New Market Wizards, and creator of the RR trading app. After traveling extensively in the third world, he did a series of book and lecture tours with an ex-shaman from the jungle of Amazonas. His friend was publicly labeled a "token N-word." (Can't print that here.) He raised five children with his wife, then followed after her dream-working with orphans in Asia where he became immersed in barefoot banking. After hearing the children sing, he founded and directed Voices of Myanmar Gospel Choir, seen on YouTube. Today he is Chairman of the Board of RTM2, a trading group, and lives near Chicago. MarkRitchie.Me Check him out at his website where you are encouraged to leave a comment. Ritchie is especially fond of those with contrary viewpoints, i.e., critics.