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About the Book

Novelist Fred Snyder weaves the divinations of ancient prophet Ezekiel into a suspenseful story of family conflicts, international unrest, and deliverance in Ezekiel’s Vision.

Robert Zadok is a young American college graduate determined to make aliyah despite pressures from his family to assimilate. The grandson of a scholar of the prophet Ezekiel, Zadok identifies with his ancestors’ Zionist principles, and believes he will always be conflicted between those ideals and his connections to his parents. His dream of contributing to Israel’s rebirth is so strong that he defies his family’s wishes, and sacrifices both his lover and his material comforts to emigrate. Once there, he discovers a city where his grandfather’s teachings are still followed, and he begins to study a forgotten manuscript that unlocks the mysteries of Ezekiel’s often misunderstood prophecy. Zadok learns the secrets passed down through generations of mystics, but does not yet realize how powerful this knowledge would come to be.

Years later, Zadok is married and living in a Galilee settlement with his new bride. Now a military intelligence officer, his life is what he always dreamed – until hostile neighbors threaten Israel’s security. His fear for the country escalates when he can’t convince his superiors to take preemptive action, so Zadok turns once again to his grandfather’s writings. There he comes to understand Ezekiel’s predictions of the Holocaust and the subsequent rebirth of Israel, and makes an incredible discovery that could hold the key to Israel’s salvation. If he can find a way to facilitate Ezekiel’s vision, Zadok could put an end to the high-stakes international drama in which he is embroiled, and save Israel from destruction.

Ezekiel’s Vision brings to life the controversy surrounding Jewish continuity, the relevance of prophecies to contemporary crises, and the tough choices we often face within our relationships – both personal and international. In a story that weaves mysticism, prophecy, and kabbalistic secrets with the everyday challenges of marriage and family life, Fred Snyder illuminates the many conflicts facing Jewish people today.

Reviews

"One of the most interesting aspects of this book is the fact that while there are some otherworldly elements at its core, this is a story about someone trying to make sense of his life - from moving to a far away country, to dealing with a stressful career, family obligations, a cancer scare and much more. These little touches in the book turn it from another run-of-the-mill story to something that everyone can get behind. Who here has not at one time or another felt career or family pressures? Who has not had to make an immense decision that would affect our lives for years to come? This is what makes the book a must read." Read more The Jewish Advocate, Boston, review by Bret Ratner, November 23, 2006

Ezekiel's Vision makes the Ohio Jewish Chronicle's recommended list: "perfect gift for the bookworm in your family." November 23, 2006

"Ezekiel's Vision is a great and important book for many reasons." Chuck Morse, host, Morsecode talk radio WARL 1320 AM Providence. Listen to Fred Snyder interviewed by Chuck Morse

Also,check out our Message board to post your own reviews, and see what other readers have to say about "Ezekiel's Vision"

Chapter Sample

Download and read the first chapter of Ezekiel's Vision. (Available in PDF format)

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Buying Information

Book stores that carry Ezekiel's Vision: Amazon, Barnes & Nobles or Israel Books

Ezekiel's Vision is available at most Jewish bookstores everywhere.

Also, in Boston available at Brookline Booksmith 279 Harvard St. Brookline, and Borders Books, Atrium Mall, Chestnut Hill. In Manhattan at Levine Co. 5 W30th St.

Book Groups

Ezekiel’s Vision: Reading Group Discussion Guide

1. Why is Jewish Continuity so important to Zadok that he is willing to say good-bye to his family and good-bye to a life with Vicki? What does he believe that life in Israel will provide? Discuss why Continuity is so important for some and not an issue for others.

2. The story chronicles conflict within a family over 4 generations. Some move closer to religion, ritual, or spirituality, while others move away. Discuss other examples across all religious groups.

3. Zadok’s mother expresses the opinion her daughter has achieved success, while her son can’t even afford to buy his wife a plane ticket. Do you agree that her daughter is more successful? Which of the children do you believe has lived a more meaningful life?

4. In captivity, Zadok is bound after he attempts suicide, and he expresses his frustration and anger over his failed suicide attempt. He didn’t achieve what he had thought he wanted, yet things worked out for the better after all. Is it a strange experience to find relief from not getting what one had wanted? Is it uncommon? Is there a spiritual connection?

5. Was Shoshana’s response to her husband’s strange behavior reasonable? Should she have supported him more? Should Zadok have done something to help enlist her support and cooperation before he launched the expensive distribution of his grandfather’s book?

6. Discuss the novel’s conflicts of idealism vs. materialism.

7. In the opening chapter a benevolent Arab named Abdul tries to help his Jewish friends. Why is Abdul so willing to help? Discuss the irony that generations later, the kindness is returned.

8. Why does Ezekiel’s choice of words seem to reflect the images of the holocaust and the rebirth of Israel?

9. What was it about Ezekiel that differentiated him from the many would-be prophets of his age and the prophets that came later? Why was he revered by future generations of mystics?

10. Is the message of Ezekiel, as interpreted by Reuven Zadok, relevant today?

11. In the end, Robert Zadok becomes determined to bridge the gaps in his family. Why couldn’t he do it before?

12. The name “Zadok” (which means “righteous”) is referenced in the Bible. Zadok’s father’s name, “Adam” (which means “man”), is also referenced in the Bible. Zadok is often referred to in the book of Ezekiel as “the son of man” (or of “Adam” in the original Hebrew). Do you recognize any more biblical references and metaphors in the novel?

13. Do you see Reuven Zadok as a link in a great line of enlightened mystics and scholars, or as a sick old man, suffering from delusions?

14. Zadok was able to eventually suspend his disbelief over the prophecies. Everyone has a different threshold. What were the circumstances that led Zadok, a rational pragmatic individual, to get to that threshold?

15. The rocket attack from the north of Israel is in the novel and written long before the 2006 war. It was inspired by a reference to such an event predicted in the Book of Ezekiel. Discuss opinions on whether this is another prophecy come true.

Order the Book at Amazon, Barnes & Nobles or Israel Books