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| Einstein's Rabbi |
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Cohen, Michael M.
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New England - Local Authors
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Additional photos
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Price: $15.95
Availability: 4
Paperback
ISBN/UPC: 9781605710013
ISBN-10: 1605710016
Published: 07/31/2008
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Customer Reviews (Write your own review)
Average Rating of 5.00 from 6 Reviews
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A Sceptic's Odyssey and Affirmation
david schimmel on 2009-10-04 12:41:42
Einstein's Rabbi is an appealing contemporary, coming-of-age story and much, much more. It's a candid, thoughtful, odyssey - a wide-ranging search for answers to life's intimate and ultimate questions. Through the devise of a Platonic dialogue between the narrator and Einstein's fictitious Rabbi, the book confronts and tries to resolve the historic conflicts between science and religion, between orthodox and liberal religious faith, and between traditional and modern concepts of God.
The content is infused with the events of Einstein's life and work, his struggle to find cosmic order, and his insights on almost every important issue. Also sprinkled through the narrative are the ideas of great Jewish thinkers - from Maimonides and Martin Buber to Mordechai Kaplan, Abraham Heschel and Elie Wiesel. The extraordinary range of topics spans the ages - from the dilemma of Job and the mysteries of the Kabbalah to the contempory challenges of anti-semitism, Zionism, and the theory of relativity. The book concludes with compelling case for faith and prayer - even for those who reject a personal God and with an affirmation in the value of searching for answers - even to life's unanswerable questions.
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An enjoyable read
Carol Schoenwetter on 2009-05-26 09:11:03
"Einstein's Rabbi" written by Rabbi Michael Cohen, is a clever and insightful story of a young man's attempt to discover himself while searching for answers to those difficult questions regarding religion and the existence of god, to the meaning of life. Cohen has found a unique way of weaving this story of spiritual seeking through the eyes an older rabbi who had once spent hours in discussions with Einstein. This book's thought provoking message is designed to present the reader with an enlightened perspective on religion, spirituality and the way we view the world around us. I loved this book and have purchased it as gifts, for friends and family members.
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A Meaningful and Powerful Journey
Rabbi Eitan Weiner-Kaplow on 2009-02-06 05:33:55
Michael Cohen writes a beautiful tale of spiritual quest, challenge and growth. Set in the early 1980's, Joseph, a Jewish college student begins to challenge his assimilated suburban Jewish upbringing. Having grown up near Princeton, New Jersey, Joseph has a natural interest in the great physicist Albert Einstein, who was perhaps Princeton University's most famous professor. As Joseph begins his quest for spiritual identity, he befriends the rabbi with whom Einstein had a long relationship of conversation and correspondence. Joseph soon discovers that Einstein's questions are the same as his.
Through this tale and encounter with the fictitious rabbi, all are invited into a journey of self-discovery and spiritual renewal. The issues and questions Cohen raises through Joseph's encounters with the rabbi, family and friends are critical. What is the relationship between religion and science? How does one live in the "real world" of empirical data while exploring spirituality? How does one fortably in both the secular American civilization and one's religious world? How does one's rebellion result in meaningful and positive choices? How does one follow a proud and meaningful religious path in light of all the upsetting incidents that confront us in daily life? Beyond asking lots of questions, the reader is led on a path of seeking answers.
Michael Cohen, a Reconstructionist rabbi, essentially presents a well-crafted introduction to the philosophy of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, the founder of Jewish Reconstructionist philosophy. He does it through a beautiful and sensitive story that is accessible to all. The story is full of great Jewish knowledge, Biblical teaching and the wisdom of kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. He adds plenty of art history, travel facts and, of course, physics. It is a joy to read (I read it twice!) and I mend it as a book club selection and a text for adult study.
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Loved Einstein's Rabbi
Jane Susswein
on 2009-01-12 12:50:12
Wonderful read! Cohen tackles all the big questions in religion -what is the nature of God, of spirituality, the meaning of prayer? The story weaves Einstein's actual thoughts through an engaging narrative of exploration.
Jane Susswein
Montclair, NJ
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Extraordinary Read
Rabbi Jack Cohen on 2008-12-31 11:51:53
EINSTEIN'S RABBI is extraordinary in style and content. I was intrigued throughout my reading by the feeling, on the one hand, that the author was engaged in presenting Einstein's theoretical concerns about time and energy and, on the other hand, offering a skilled introduction to Einstein's views on a naturalistic theology. It was difficult for me to realize that I was reading a novella and not a realistic analysis of Einstein's mind and his endeavor to link science and religion as partners in the human effort to rate the mystery of the cosmos. Scientists and religionists will find much to challenge them in this work.
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Publisher Comments
“…I read Einstein’s Rabbi in a single sitting. What made it so compelling was the believability of the three voices: narrator, rabbi, and Einstein….It is a measure of their wisdom that what they say is as full of questions as it is of answers.”
Rev. Frederick Buechner, Pulitzer Prize nominee
“Einstein’s Rabbi is fascinating, engaging and uniquely creative. It is
more than the story of a young person’s spiritual quest. It touches
on many of the deep and fundamental issues that we face in our
world today.”
Patrick J. Leahy, US Senator for Vermont
“This book rescued me from myself. On a dark day it brought light into my life.”
--Mandy Patinkin, Tony Award-winning actor
Einstein’s Rabbi: A Tale of Science and the Soul is the story of a young man’s search for meaning in his life. He asks for guidance from Rabbi Asher Ternfka, Albert Einstein’s fictitious rabbi. In a series of imagined conversations based on Einstein’s quotes, the rabbi tells the young man, Joseph, of his experiences with Einstein, and the dialogues between the two become a mirror for Joseph’s own spiritual journey. The book, which Rabbi Cohen worked on for 28 years, is rich with insight on the human condition and a compelling model for all spiritual searchers no matter what their religious orientation.
About the Author
Rabbi Michael Cohen is a graduate of the University of Vermont and served as the Rabbi of the Israel Congregation in Manchester Center from 1990 to 2000. He is a founding faculty member of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, a program in the Middle East to prepare future Arab and Jewish leaders to solve the region’s environmental challenges.
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