Initial Instructions

What would Genesis be without the letter E? Initial Instructions is a fresh rendering of the Bible's beginning with an unusual twist: It uses only 25 letters of the English alphabet. Initial Instructions strikes words like "the," "beginning", "created," "heavens," and "earth" from its lexicon. Instead, Rabbi Joseph Prouser finds original ways to render ancient meanings, revealing The Book of Genesis in a new way. Why undertake this exercise? For Rabbi Prouser, a lipogram -- a text that avoids a particular letter -- offers the virtues of discipine and restraint. "Clichés must be interpreted,"…