By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

The Oxford Dictionary defines the term dystopia as “an imagined state or society in which there is great suffering or injustice, typically one that is totalitarian or post-apocalyptic.” That term describes two recent novels – “The Third Temple” by Yishai Sarid (Restless Books) and “Next Stop” by Benjamin Resnick (Avid Reader Press) – that offer very different versions of the future. Sarid’s book features a post-democratic kingdom of Israel, while in Resnick’s a black hole suddenly swallows the state of Israel. Both works explore how these events affect Israel and the Jewish community.

“The Third Temple” opens with a statement by a Scientific Council noting that the following document was written by Prince Jonathan, who was third in line for the throne of the Kingdom of Judah. At first, readers might assume that the novel pretends to be a newly found book of the Bible. However, it soon becomes clear that this is a vision of the future. Jonathan is writing his words while sitting in a jail cell after the kingdom was conquered. Over the course of the novel, readers piece together exactly how the kingdom formed and why it failed.

The impetus for the change from a democracy to a kingship was a nuclear attack that destroyed Tel Aviv, Haifa and other progressive cities. Jonathan’s father, Jehoaz, had a vision that told him to return to the true version Israel: a third Kingdom of Judah based purely on biblical law. Declaring himself both king and high priest, Jehoaz expelled all the Amalekites (which is how Jonathan refers to Arabs) from the state. Most importantly, he rebuilt the Temple, reestablished the priesthood and reinstituted animal sacrifices. Since Jehoaz believes that the destroyed cities had gone against God’s will, he encouraged the Judeans to live in strict accordance to biblical law and return to farming. This has not prevented food shortages and other financial difficulties, since the rest of the world has boycotted Israel, allowing for no food or other goods to be exported to the country.

Jonathan’s focus, though, is on the Temple. Although he was physically injured and, therefore, according to biblical law, should not have been able to serve as a priest, his father allows him to help his older brother Joel, who handles the financial aspects of the Temple. Jonathan focuses on the daily sacrifices, which are described in great detail, from the slicing of the animal’s throat to the collection of the blood and the burning of sections of the carcass. Although Jonathan feels God’s presence in the Temple and carefully follows the laws, unlike the other priests, he can no longer bring himself to eat meat.

After Jehoaz declares war against the surrounding Amalekite nations, Jonathan receives a mysterious visitor. Claiming to be an angel bringing the word of God, the visitor tells him that he must demand that his father relinquish his kingship. If not, God will destroy the country. This revelation causes Jonathan to ponder the meaning of his connection to God and to wonder why God needs animal sacrifices, especially when people are starving. Jonathan also begins to wonder if God actually cares about the Jews since the visitor also recounts all the evils that have happened to the Jewish people over the generations.

“The Third Temple” is an unusual novel in that it is impressive and unlikable at the same time. But that’s its power: it makes readers face what might happen if Israel was no longer a democracy, but rather a kingdom based on biblical laws enforced by one man. In an author’s note written in 2024, Sarid notes that, when the novel was published in 2015, people in Israel saw it as science fiction, but today its treatment of extremism is seen as contemporary and relevant. Book clubs that focus on difficult, serious fiction should find much to discuss.

While “The Third Temple” take place in Israel, “Next Stop” begins in an unnamed metropolis that clearly feels like New York City. When Israel disappears in a black hole type anomaly and other, smaller anomalies appear across the world, the world has a typical reaction: the Jews are to blame. That blame is caused by fear: no one knows what caused the anomalies and no one knows when the next one will appear. Plus, if someone Jewish approaches an anomaly, they feel pulled to enter it, even against their better judgement. However, no one knows what is on the other side since no one who entered an anomaly has ever returned. As fears grow, Jews are fired from their jobs and forced to live in specific areas. Even children aren’t safe: they are soon enrolled in Jews-only schools.

In the midst of this turmoil, Ethan Block meets Ellen Halperin during the time when Jews could still obtain regular employment. He is drawn to her, but she, at first, resists their mutual attraction. This is partly because she has a son, Michael who is 6 when they meet. Michael’s father was a non-Jew who deserted her and Michael, and this makes her wary. Their relationship develops with the secular Ethan meeting her family, who are more observant, although not Orthodox. Even as they try to develop a life together, strange and unexplained events affect their decisions, from a so-called messiah who causes people to float above the ground to a mysterious jar of pickled tomatoes that never empties no matter how many tomatoes are taken from it. 

Another difficulty is that Ethan and Ellen approach their situation from different points of view. Should they take part in a growing Jewish resistance movement? Or should they wait for the world to return to normal and restore Jewish rights? Looming behind these choices are the anomalies. Some non-Jews want to force the remaining Jewish population to enter them. Some Jews feel that all Jews should emigrate through them, although, in both cases, one question remains: what is on the other side? An additional question that the novel never truly addresses is exactly what caused the anomalies in the first place and what – if any – is their connection to the Jewish people. 

“Next Stop” is a puzzling work because so many of its questions remain unanswered, even after its conclusion. What does succeed is the author’s portrayal of the developing relationship between Ethan, Ellen and Michael. Readers will begin to care about them, even when the parts of the plot focusing on the anomalies don’t make sense. For this reader, the ending of the novel felt incomplete: while interesting, I felt like I was missing something essential. Was there a deeper meaning or did the author just want to leave readers with unanswered questions? This intriguing work may have greater appeal to readers who enjoy debating unanswered questions