RONNIE CAPLANE
Bulletin Correspondent
He knows all kinds of obscure facts like where the winged creatures took Ezekiel. (To the Chebar Canal, near Tel Aviv, for seven days.)
Although Bourkoff studies for the pure joy of learning, there are bonuses. Like a free trip to Israel.
In June, he won the 1997 National Bible Contest and an all-expense paid, two-week trip to the Jewish state. Next April Bourkoff will hook up in Israel with 50 other biblical scholars from 26 countries to compete in the International Bible Contest and enjoy a red carpet tour.
Not bad for a kid who would study Bible and Talmud even if there weren't a payoff. For Bourkoff it's a way of life.
"Natan has always been a member of [Orthodox Congregation] Beth Israel even when we weren't," says Vivienne Roumani-Denn, Bourkoff's mother. "He loves Latin. He loves sports but won't commit to [teams that play on] Saturdays because of Shabbat."
Bourkoff's friend, Talmud teacher and Bible contest coach David Henkin, says Bourkoff is a rare individual.
"He works very hard at school, but he's not what one pictures as a nerdy, bookish kid," says Henkin. "The odd thing about him is that he's fairly religious for a Berkeley kid. It's fairly isolating going to Berkeley and being so observant. He's more observant than his family."
Bourkoff began studying Talmud in earnest several years ago when Henkin started a Wednesday afternoon Tanakh [Bible] class at Beth Israel in Berkeley.
"He has always loved learning and this kind of thought process," says Roumani-Denn. "It helps him in life. In the way he analyzes situations."
It was through Henkin that Bourkoff learned of the National Bible Contest.
"One day at the Wednesday class, David told us about the [National Bible Contest] test and said we should consider taking it," Bourkoff said. "No one pursued it the first year. The second year I decided to try. I got more serious as time went on."
The International Bible Contest was founded 38 years ago by David Ben-Gurion and is sponsored by the Department of Jewish Education and Culture in the Diaspora of the World Zionist Organization. Every year the contest covers different books of the Bible. This year's material is from Deuteronomy, Joshua, King I, Ezekiel and Esther.
J. Mitchell Orlian, coordinator in the United States, said the U.S. contest is divided into upper and lower grade levels as well as English and Hebrew divisions. Approximately 8,000 students across the country took the regional exam last March. From that group, about 200 qualified to go to New York to compete in the June finals.
This is Bourkoff's third year in the competition. Although he won at the regional level his first year, a national victory eluded him until this year.
So why was this year different?
"I felt that I knew the material better this year partly because I was older and knew how to study better and partly because David did a great job," said Bourkoff. Henkin provided sample questions and mnemonic devices to remember information.
The victory is particularly sweet since Bourkoff was under a lot of academic pressure at the time. He had to take the test, which is written, a day early in order to get back to the Bay Area in time for finals and SATs. Bourkoff also managed to pull down straight A's.
In Israel, Bourkoff and the other diaspora winners will have to take a qualifying exam, Orlian said. Only 16 of the 50 will go on to the finals.
The final competition is televised at prime time on Yom HaAtzmaut, Israeli Independence Day. All questions are asked in Hebrew and translated for those who don't speak the language. Questions and answers are oral. The last question is asked by the prime minister.
First prize is an educational scholarship. Israelis usually win because they've had the advantage of studying the Bible continuously since childhood. Only three Americans have ever won, according to Orlian.
Even though the contest is months away, Bourkoff is getting ready. He's in Israel this summer studying Hebrew. Although he will use a translator, Bourkoff thinks if he can understand the question in Hebrew, it will give him an edge.
As for his future plans, Bourkoff is thinking about going to college in the East.
"Mostly because of the Jewish community," he says. "There are more [kosher] restaurants. It's easier to maintain an Orthodox Jewish life. But I may go to UCLA."
After college, Bourkoff does not anticipate a career as either a wrestler or a rabbi.
"My brother is working on Wall Street and my sister is at Price Waterhouse as a computer consultant," says Bourkoff. "Some gene of that kind is floating around our family. Maybe I'll go into [business], too."
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