Thrones of Israel

I’ve been toying with the idea of looking at Israel through its toilets for many years. I’ve told hundreds of tourists or students about my “toilet book,” and my family has been subjected to hours on end of toilet related information. My interest in ancient lavatories has become sufficiently well known that whenever a news item drops that includes some groundbreaking toilet tidbit, I’m sure to receive a link from several helpful forwarders. One student even bought me a toilet candy end-of-the-year gift.

From experience, hearing about my interest usually elicits one of two reactions: Many people are just grossed out and think it’s absurd (admittedly, my wife fell into this category), and others expect what essentially amounts to a string of poop jokes. Being the sensible and sales oriented person I am, I try very hard to disappoint both groups. I strive to avoid any overgrossification unless absolutely necessary, and I avoid bathroom comedy like the plague.

Only recently have I really started working on my book (to be titled Thrones of Israel). Since my goal is for the book to be a “bathroom book,” I’m trying to keep information short and efficient. Additionally, Jewish law prohibits learning Torah in the bathroom, and I want to make the book “bathroom friendly” for as many as possible. So I’ve had to omit many references and ideas that could be considered holy.

Enter this blog. Reading about the bathroom habits of the ancients has been a fascinating journey and there’s so much more to discuss than what could fit in a book. This also gives me a great platform through which I can share and discuss sources, particularly biblical and Talmudic.

I can also try to justify why I’m doing this at all, and hopefully convince some people that it might not be the craziest idea ever. I’m always happy to hear feedback or ideas, of course. You can reach me at thronesofisraelbook<at>gmail.com and in the comments section below.

Let’s get going!