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August 25, 2000/24 Av 5760, Vol. 52, No.50
Story explores Hebrew scholar's crisis of faith
FRAN HELLER
Special to the Jewish News
I was never a fan of audiobooks until a recent, long road trip beckoned the opportunity to review "As a Driven Leaf," (Jewish Contemporary Classics, Inc., $39.95 audiobook), Rabbi Milton Steinberg's 1940 historical novel about the real-life Talmudic sage turned apostate, Elisha Ben Abuyah.
A tapestry of fact and fiction, high drama and theological dialectic, Steinberg's in-depth exploration of a brilliant ancient Hebrew scholar's crisis of faith, in the voice of a less-skilled reader, might become laborious and dry. But George Guidall's colorful narration endows the story with a magnetism that hooks the listener, whether secular or religious, and holds him a willing captive without surcease.
Set in the late first century, a time of growing tension between the Roman conquerors of Palestine and its Jewish inhabitants, the story begins with the birth of Elisha Ben Abuyah, whose mother died in childbirth and whose rebellious father, a non-believer, rejects Jewish tradition in favor of Greek philosophy. When Elisha's father later falls ill, he summons the young boy to his deathbed, with the caveat that he hopes Elisha will not be torn in two, as he was between the study of Greek reason and his Jewish faith. Steinberg's description of a storm-ravaged sky at the funeral serves as a powerful foreboding of the son's fate. Elisha is sent to study with Rabbi Joshua, a popular and respected member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish court of law and eventually becomes an ordained rabbi, outwardly learned but inwardly skeptical. His arranged marriage to Deborah, an ambitious woman bereft of passion, and incapable of child bearing, are further clues to Elisha's doomed life.
Political and religious history are interwoven with Elisha's personal story, creating a well-defined backdrop in which events unfold. Guidall illuminates the author's picture of the growing clash between the Jewish people and the Roman imperialists whose punitive laws include a refusal to let them rebuild the Temple.
The distinguished members of the Sanhedrin, including Rabbis Akiba, Simeon Ben Azzai and Simeon Ben Zoma are vividly brought to life in Guidall's rich vocal characterizations. The role of the synagogue as a district court of law where learned members of the Jewish high court would adjudicate cases offers a tantalizing glimpse of ancient Jewish society.
But it is the emotion-laden story of Elisha Ben Abuyah, a gifted but cynical rabbi, which gives "As A Driven Leaf" its dramatic thrust. Balancing the factual skeins with the imaginary is a credit to the book. Making them both seem real in the audio version is a credit to its reader.
Perplexed by Roman power, seduced by Greek systems of learning, and his own flagging faith, Elisha starts questioning Judaism's strictures as increasing doubt begins to supplant belief. The plague-ridden death of his best friends' young children and later, that of another child who accidentally falls from a tree, shatters his faith completely.
Elisha's inner turmoil drives him to seek an alternative system of argument, through the study of Greek thought, philosophy and logic that will support Jewish orthodoxy. To accomplish this formidable task, he engages his reluctant colleagues to study with him, an enterprise that drives one mad, another to an early grave.
The title derives from Elisha's identification with Job, narrated by Guidall in one of the audiobook's most moving passages. Wilt thou harass a driven leaf? Job, driven by a curiosity over which he had no more control than a leaf driven by a gale, importuned God to reveal His mystery. Like Shakespeare's King Lear railing against cruel fate, Guidall's trembling voice makes Elisha's torment palpable.
Once Elisha openly disavows belief in God, he becomes a heretic and is excommunicated by the Sanhedrin. A quest for certainty blinds the rabbi to his religion and sentences him to a life of bitterness and remorse.
A long and less gripping middle section finds Elisha fleeing to Antioch, where he spends years mastering Greek scholarship.
In time, the apostate becomes a famous scholar and lecturer. Rome's decision to turn Jerusalem into a pagan city sets off a revolt, the Bar Kochba uprising, followed by internecine strife and war. When Elisha is summoned to Jerusalem, his ultimate betrayal is not only against God, but the Jewish people. Guidall's emotion-laden oration of the sacrifice of the martyrs is so utterly wrenching that I will never regard the High Holiday prayer book or the Haggadah with the same eyes and heart again.
It is unlikely I would choose to read Milton Steinberg's 480-page book. But having heard it on tape has enlightened me about an unforgettable chapter of Jewish history, and left an indelible imprint in its wake. George Guidall's artful rendering of "As A Driven Leaf" proves that reading with one's "ears" can be as pleasurable a literary experience as reading with one's "eyes."
"As a Driven Leaf" audiobook is available through Jewish Contemporary Classics, Inc. at 1-877-522-8273 or www.jccaudiobooks.com.
Fran Heller is a free-lance writer living in Cleveland.
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