As a Driven Leaf

As A Driven Leaf is a novel in which fictional and historical characters comfortably coexist. It is a gripping tale of the renegade Talmudic sage, Elisha ben Abuyah, caught in a personal struggle between his own faith and the compelling culture of Rome, circa 70 CE.

The genius of Milton Steinberg's great work is that it illuminates the political and intellectual conflicts of Rabbinic times in a way that shows their relevance to Jewish faith, nationhood, and personal development in every era, including our own.

A helpful Listener's Guide adds fascinating historical background on the book's events - including Bar Kochba's bloody revolt against the Romans - and its characters, among them the great woman scholar Bruriah and the revered Rabbi Akiba.