As a Drive Leaf by M. Steinberg - Book Report/Review Example

It is axiomatic that Milton Steinberg made a case in, “As a Drive leaf” by showcasing the life of Elisha ben Abuyah. Through that life and other characters in the book, the reader is able to understand the ancient Jewish culture. The purpose of this paper is to critique the ancient Jewish society by looking at the life of Elisha, as portrayed in the book. In this regard, the paper will concentrate on how the authority of the rabbi is presented in the book. The book, through the life of rabbis, has brought debate to this day and age because of the manner in which is analyses the conflicts that existed in those days. The novel is set at time following the destruction of the famous Jewish temple. The main character Elisha is confronted by conflicts of science and faith. Elisha is an intelligent person who was born to a wealthy family. When his father dies he went to live with his uncle who introduces him to a saintly Rabbi. Eventually, as a result of the good deeds of the rabbi, Elisha was convinced into studying Jewish. His education later makes him one of the best rabbis of his time. His knowledge of the Jewish cultures made him to rise to the Supreme Court in Judea. However, Elisha wanted to study Greek yet it was against the doctrines as taught by rabbis. It was written that it was forbidden for Jews to study the tongue o the Greek (P.11). This shows the enormous power that the rabbis had to the extent of forbidding the teachings of other cultures. Elisha’s story portrays a Renegade who later betrayed the Jewish people to the Roman Empire. He later replaced Jewish ethical standards with paganism and the work of Steinberg seeks to interrogate the life of Elisha through the scanty knowledge about him. He notes, at some point, that men can become wiser if only they had the means to discover the way, (p. 386) Elisha life take a turn when the woman he marries a woman with weird views and who later fails to give birth following a miscarriage. He eventually finds solace in two children born to one of the disciples but the children later die. That death as well as other life occurrences make Elisha question life and seek answers from Torah and other teachings. Trying to seek the answers, it is clear from the teaching of the rabbis when they respond to the situations by stating that it is not in the power of the people to seek answer to these they do not know and cannot explain such as the death of the two boys. Those teachings form great part of Jewish teachings to extent of being dictum in the Jewish culture. Through the life story of Elisha, it becomes clear that the Jewish principles are not to be questioned. Pappas feels obligated to study the doctrines taught by rabbis but at some point questions existence of God; he says if God is there, he really does not exist (p.100). Similarly the doctrines taught by rabbis are so entrenched on the people and the lethality forces Pappas to Antioch. At Antioch, he partakes of forbidden things and makes friends with those people.However due to the high morals he was brought in, he feels he has forsaken his culture but that does not make him a roman; he is still Jew at heart (p.375). This comes to light when Elisha is excommunicated for failure to abide by the customs as well as questioning the customs. In pursuit of education and knowledge on various issues Elisha resorts to learning Greek. Here he learns Geometry. As a result of the gained knowledge, he discovers that Greek, unlike Jewish education, gives some explanations on aspects of life; to him, Greek learning system offers proof on some phenomenon. As a result Elisha later reveals that he prefers that set of education of Jewish education. He explains that Jewish education is that good because they sought knowledge from the foundation as opposed to Jewish education that seeks to foster knowledge on already determined facts. Elisha ideologies later land him in trouble because his questioning Jewish education leads to his excommunication. The Rabbis therefore have the power to punish all member of the community including fellow rabbis who go contrary to the teachings and doctrines. From the life of Elisha, Steinberg interrogates the ideals that the Jewish people have held overtime and how those ideals have shaped their lives. It is clear that even the rabbis that highly held in the society are equally challenged by life temptations. For example Elisha is occasionally tempted by prostitutions and adultery. He may have some self-knowledge but that does not make know all the secrets of life. From the book, the life of the people seems predesigned and the leaders, especially the rabbis have immense power to ensure that people stick to the doctrines of the culture. Through the life story of Elisha, it is clear that the society was strictly structured. As such, people including Elisha had to conform to certain way of dressing, they had to pray in a certain way and make certain exclamations at certain times of the day. Any deviation from those norms and practices were not tolerated and would be heavily punished. In this regard, Elisha was excommunicated for failure to abide by the customs of the Jewish culture. Elisha’s father who was Hellenizer who had soft landing for Greek ideals and that was not tolerated, at leant judging by the reactions of those close to him who knew of his secrets. Yet even with interest in other culture, there are instances of Rabbi Eliezer’s authoritative teachings to people; he tells them they were living in evil days as such a plague of immorality would come. In that regard he called upon people to bar their doors lest they are affected by immorality (p.100). Joshua who does not agree much with Eliezer’s teachings brings a counter thought and says that Elisha’s teachings amounted to profanation of Gods name as well as betrayal of the very law that they should protect (p.138). Despite the occasional disagreements of the teachings of different rabbis, people still obeyed their teachings as they stood as the representatives of God. The rabbis were highly respected and in order for one to qualify as a Rabbi, one was supposed to be conversant with Jewish doctrines. As a result of extensive reading and knowledge Elisha raised the ranks to the apex of the society (judge). Those positions were held by people who had great understanding of the teaching; this goes to show how highly those who understand and practiced Jewish culture were held. Amram in the novel note that there is only one truth to be found only “in the scriptures” (p.41). In a nut shell, the doctrines of the Jewish taught by rabbis is rigid to the extent of making the participants questioned the faith and culture. Despite that, most of the Jewish feel indebted to their doctrines as result of the high value attached. Work cited Steinberg, Milton, and Chaim Potok. As A Driven Leaf. [West Orange, N.J.]: Behrman House, 1996. Print. Read More