Introduction
‘As a driven leaf’ is a historical fiction book written by Milton Steinberg who was a rabbi. In ‘As a driven leaf’, the author seeks to examine Elisha Ben Abuyah’s life. As a Talmudic rabbi, Elisha is opposed to the teachings of Judaism. Consequently, he opts to delve deep into Greek philosophical readings w8ith a view to further understanding the rationale behind his religious faith. Elisha Ben Abuyah is a real-life character that lived about 70 years A. D. Little is known about Elisha, around whom the story revolves, with different scholars putting forward different opinions about him. He was a controversial character because of his secular views in his later life. Steinberg tries to provide more details about this historical character by filling the unknown parts, with fictional information.
Although Milton Steinberg died while still young (at the age of 47), nonetheless, he managed to leave behind a secure and rich heritage through his writing. Most of his theological and fictional work was completed during his time as a rabbi in New York at Park Avenue Synagogue. Steinberg was very determined to explore Judaic philosophy. Specifically, Milton Steinberg’s book may at best be described as a touching and explosive book that vividly touches on the life of Elisha Ben Abuyah. In this case, Steinberg paints Elisha as a Talmudic sage who has to overcome various changes that face him. Notably, the sage has to overcome a faith crisis while still having to experience daily untold human suffering and political tyranny. In light of this, one may opt to view Milton Steinberg’s book as a historical novel that sets the stage for better insights into a conflict that prevailed between, on the one hand, the pagans and on the other hand, individuals of the Judaic faith.
The book’s title is derived from the Bible in the book of Job. The story is set in a few years A. D (After the Death of Christ) mostly in Antioch, Syria. The book was first published in March 1939 and later republished late in the 19th century. The book faced self-censorship in some areas because of the conservative nature of the author. Other books written by Steinberg are; The Making of the Modern Jew and The Prophets Wife.
Plot
The book’s author tries to explain the life of Elisha by creating a fictional account of the life of Elisha. The narration starts with the birth of Elisha and his mother, Elisheba, who dies soon (five days later) after the birth of Elisha. Although his father was a Jew he chooses to have Elisa study Greek. Eventually Elisha, through the actions of his uncle starts studying Jewish law and later in life he gets ordained as a Rabbi. His life as a rabbi continues over several years. The story shows the activities of the sages of the Sanhedrin, the Greek and Roman lifestyles and culture and the sharp contrasts that existed between the two. The Sanhedrin was the supreme religious body in the land of Israel during the period of the Holy Temple, the sages were religious scholars or wise men who studied Jewish law and took part in discussions. Elisha experiences a lot of human suffering and tragedy during this time. After tragedy strikes the Meir family which was very close to him, he starts to question his religious beliefs.
Eventually, he concludes that he needs intellectual understanding and not just blind faith. There is a struggle between the rabbinical life and his inner doubts and questions. Eventually, he loses his faith, he gets excommunicated from the Sanhedrin and the community severs all ties with him. After this, he decides to pursue other knowledge that was considered pagan. He studies Greek literature, history, science and math throughout his life. At the end (very late in his life) Elisha concludes that “faith and reason are not antagonists, on the contrary, salvation is through the commingling of the two, faith for establishing the first premises, and reason for purifying them of confusion and to draw the fullness of their implications” (Steinberg & Potok 473) In the story we also meet Elisha’s friend and fellow rabbi, Akiba who also studies the Greek and Roman knowledge, but who does not fall into idealistic advocacy as Elisha did.
The book is written in Standard English and does not present the reader with difficulty in reading it. The story is touching story for example it recounts episodes like; the death of Elisheba, Elisha’s mother, who died a few days after Elisha’s birth, the devastation of Elisha’s father, Abuyah, as a result of this death, the tragedies that strike the sages and Meir’s family, his unhappy and childless marriage and so on. The book also explores his struggle between Greek and Roman pagan life and culture and his Jewish upbringing. Although the story is set in ancient times and characters, these differences still exist and can be seen in contemporary society. The story also describes political tyranny and human suffering that occurred. The book is well written, gripping and contains very interesting philosophical discussions. The weakness in the writing of this book is that the author portrays Elisha as someone who relied too much on written material as a source of knowledge. Maybe this is a result of is Steinberg’s bias, or perhaps Steinberg would like to evoke an experience in the reader but historical accounts show that this was not the case. The story teaches the reader to honor the truth of both faith and reason.
This book presents an important debate concerning religion. Should traditional religious thoughts and laws be affected by the changes in the modern world? There are three schools of thought about this. The first one states that each group of generations should make sense of the “faith of their fathers” but in language meaningful to the present (Watershed online). This first belief states that there are elements of religion that are worth protecting and that the limitations of religion should be addressed instead of discarding it altogether. The second opinion is that traditional religious rules should be maintained as they are. This view believes that traditional religion is ideal based on their belief that these laws were meant for all time, including modern and future societies. The third point of view is that religion should completely adapt to the changes in society. The benefits of faith or religion to society include; it is a major source of altruism (the selfless concern for the well being of other people) in society, research shows that the practice of religion strengths the family unit, religion is also a major contributor in the formation of personal moral behavior and judgment.
The problems that arise as a result of religion occur when the religious beliefs of one group become a source of conflict with another religious group. There have been many examples of this in recent history. There has been a conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Arabs, Hindus and Muslims in India, Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland and many more. Religion is a very strong force in society and the conflicts that are based on religious beliefs last for a long period and have attributes that seem irrational to the modern spectator. This book shows us that, like Akiba, we should take the first option (incorporating faith and reason). Akiba also studies the Greeks and Romans knowledge material, but instead of becoming intoxicated by idealism like Elisha, he can give both reason and faith expression in his life.
Conclusion
The storyline of this book is about Elisha Ben Abuyah, a Rabbi, who was a member of the Sanhedrin but got ex-communicated. He questioned his Judaism faith and tried to regain it through the study of literature, history, science and math throughout his life. However, he came to realize very late in his life that his search for truth without faith was futile. Through the eyes of Elisha, the author of this book succeeds in helping the reader to delve deep into the Roman Empire, the Jewish community as well as the Greek world. The main lesson that this book teaches is that society should not negate religious knowledge entirely or intellectual knowledge entirely. Each generation should be able to question both aspects of these two and integrate them in a way that is beneficial to society.
Works Cited
Steinberg, Milton and Potok, Chaim. As a driven leaf. Springfield, New York: Behrman House Inc, 1996. Print.