The meaning title of Yoram Bilu’s Without Bounds: The Life and Death of Rabbi Ya’aqov Wazana does not become clear to the reader until nearly the end of the book, in chapters 16 and 17. In these chapters, Bilu delves into Wazana’s psyche and the symbolic significance of his narrative, and these subjects illuminate how Wazana defied categorization.
Wazana was a Jew who worshipped as a Muslim; he ignored divisions of age and sex; he straddled the worlds of human and demon, and the living and dead; he had few close relationships but many knew of him; he lived in Morocco but his name lives on in Israel; he worked miracles but was not omnipotent. In addition to the contrasts within his life and death, his “afterlife” continues to be rife with contradictions, as Bilu demonstrates by sharing stories that show conflicting views of Wazana. Bilu explains that “certain cultural figures…are believed to possess extraordinary charismatic powers that carry the liminal process into the fabric of social life” and suggests that Wazana was one of these cultural figures (145). Perhaps the most significant of Wazana’s many contradictions was that between his life and his death. His life was full of miracles, but his death lacked them completely; in fact, it was ugly and possibly of a demonic nature.
Is this the price that one must pay for living without borders? Bilu argues that this is one of the symbols of Wazana’s story. His death represents “the dangers of a marginality that crosses accepted social boundaries” (Bilu, 147). While the general consensus of Bilu’s informants seems to be that Wazana was a unique man who performed miracles and helped countless people in need, there is also a general consensus about his death–that it was painful and gruesome. Wazana serves as example of the dangers of a life straddling worlds, and his death is a warning to those who might try to do the same. For all that Wazana was unlike anybody else, his story serves to reinforce societal norms.