As a Driven Leaf

In As a Driven Leaf, Elisha ben Abuyah is torn between the modern, Hellenistic practices of the Greeks, and the traditional beliefs of his people. In his day, Elisha must make a clear-cut decision and choose or the other. But what if Elisha lived in a contemporary society in which one did not have to make a clear-cut choice? What would the life of Elisha be in 20th century America? One of things that Elisha …

…mysticism with modern day ideas? Elisha as a contemporary Jew in the late 20th century would not have to deny one world in order to explore another. He could be free to learn science, philosophy and reason without giving up his faith and love for Judaism and Jewish culture. I see him as a great modern Rabbi, who seeks to create peace between the two worlds and adapts modern ideas with those of traditional Judaism.