An amazing thing about Eric Neuman, a Walnut Creek teen who recently collected 3,600 books for the Jewish Coalition for Literacy, is that he’s equally at home discussing gene splicing, recombinant DNA and Torah philosophy.
But what the husky-voiced 16-year-old is really focused on these days is becoming an Eagle Scout — the apex of a scouting career.
So when Neuman needed a project to complete his Eagle Scout certification, he thought big. And, combining his love of reading with a gift for gab, he went door to door within a two-mile radius and left plastic bags for residents to deposit books in.
Allison Greif, who coordinates the Jewish Coalition for Literacy project for the Jewish Federation of the Greater East Bay, pointed out that while the coalition itself collected 300 books last year, Neuman himself collected more than 10 times that number. “It showed tremendous dedication and effort.”
When asked if the “cool factor” of being an Eagle Scout was a germane issue, Neuman was nonchalant — not surprising for someone who reads “The Odyssey” for amusement.
“Some people are impressed when they hear about me trying to become an Eagle Scout,” he said. “Other people think it’s really dorky, but that never bothers me because I really love what I do with the scouts.”
Neuman, who attends Walnut Creek’s Conservative Congregation B’nai Shalom, is following a family tradition. His father was an Eagle Scout, and his older and younger brothers are also involved with scouting.
“Being in the scouts is really awesome,” said Neuman. “We get to do stuff that many kids never have an opportunity to do, like rafting, canoeing and camping. Plus, we get to help out our community.”
The Boy Scouts’ credo of helping others is a natural corollary to Judaism and its concern with tikkun olam, or healing the world, Neuman added.
“The whole idea of doing something that’s not beneficial to yourself, and that’s purely meant to help the rest of the world is a big part of both scouting and Judaism,” Neuman said.
Involvement in the Jewish community is also a family tradition. His mother, Joanne, works as campaign director at the East Bay federation. His older brother, Steven, was a Jewish Bulletin intern this past summer. Younger brother Josh is currently preparing for his bar mitzvah.
“We moved here 14 years ago and we’ve always been tied to the Jewish community,” said Steven Neuman.
The debate over what project Neuman would pick for his merit badge (the final step in determining whether a scout qualifies for the Eagle status) stopped just short of being a foregone conclusion.
The Las Lomas High School junior loves many things: computers, science (hence his ability to talk readily about gene splicing and anti-viral drugs of the future), and woodworking. But, above all, Neuman likes to read.
“When I was younger, I was really into Roald Dahl, because he was kind of dark and twisted,” he said. “But right now I’m into modern classics like ‘A Clockwork Orange’ and ‘Lord of the Flies.'”
And if he ever wants some more contemplative reading, he can delve into Torah study and debate existential religious questions, which he did for the better part of last year.
“My Torah group got into some really heated debates about whether God exists as ‘one,’ or exists for everyone on an individual basis.”
That debate may not be typical of the subject matter most 16-year olds are prone to discussing. But Neuman insists that he can easily converse about “who’s seeing whom, what my friends did last weekend, movies and stuff like that.”
Neuman will find out sometime next month if he makes the final cut to become an Eagle Scout. But appearing before the six-person board of review doesn’t make him nervous in the least.
“After you’ve gotten a bar mitzvah, everything else is easy.”