Set during the Roman occupation of Israel/Palestine (beginning with the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. and ending after the Bar Kochba rebellion, 132-135 C.E.), it tells the story of Elisha ben Abuyah, an obscure historical figure. Born into a Hellenistic Jewish family, at age 10 Elisha is sent to learn Torah and eventually becomes a rabbi of the Sanhedrin, the ruling Jewish body during the Roman occupation. But in his mid …
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…Israel is particularly moving, as is his recounting of the death of the Ten Martyrs. Rabbi Steinberg apparently faced many of the same conflicts as his protagonist. A scholar and Jewish historian, he was shunned by the Orthodox world because of his modern views. This novel was his attempt to re-create his own conflicts with the American Jewish community. However, the reader should be warned: "As A Driven Leaf" is not an easy-reading "beach" book.