The Book of Tens

In his introduction to this unusual picture book, Podwal (A Book of Hebrew Letters; A Jewish Bestiary) states that ``Ten appears...so frequently in the holy scriptures that the story of the Bible can almost be retold by means of its citings.'' He demonstrates this thesis by presenting biblical stories and incidents in which the number 10 predominates. From the creation of the world (10 words were used) to the 10 curses inflicted on Adam and Eve to the 10 righteous men who could have saved the city of Sodom, the text covers a wide expanse of biblical history. The book is esthetically very pleasing. On each page striking watercolors-some realistic, many dramatically abstract-illustrate a brief example (i.e., ``10 tribes were lost in exile'') which a column of text elucidates. Some of the stories are familiar (Joseph and the coat of many colors, Adam and Eve, the parting of the Red Sea) while others are less so (``10 people went to live in Heaven without having died'') and many intriguing details will likely be new to readers. Sometimes material seems to be lacking-what were Eve's other curses? why list only Adam's? what were the 10 words that created the world?-but for the most part this is a handsome, thoughtful and intelligent work. All ages. (Aug.)