As a Driven Leaf

By: Milton Steinberg

Narrated by: George Guidall

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.

©1939 Milton Steinberg (P)2000 Susan Dworkin

Critic reviews

"Imposing...remarkably effective." (The New York Times)

A wonderful book Everyone should read

Great book met all my expectations I have recommended to all my friends
As a child of the Holocaust survivor increased my belief Zionism

A Classic

This book is not for everyone, as it is more about reflection, faith and doubt than sheer entertainment. However, for those who think about life and purpose, meaning and time, this is a wonderful story which teaches an important lesson.

Classic adaptation of the true tension between faith and reason

Excellent historical fiction based on true events and stories that resonate as much today as 1900 years ago. Very well narrated. Highest recommendation.

This version is abridged

Amazing book, amazing narrator. This edition of the book is abridged which may remove some narrative context for the reader

Great book, relevant to our time!

The narrator spoke a bit softly. As I listen while I'm driving, I missed a bit; it simply wasn't loud enough, even with the volume turned up full. I felt as if I was a part of the world of 2000 years ago, but I suspect that quite a lot was cut out of the abridged edition, and the jumps in place and time were a little ragged. I imagine that an unabridged version would be even better. Still I enjoyed this thought-provoking audible book.

A true classic masterpiece of modern Jewish thought

The Jewish Sidharta lol. Well spiced with liturgy and Talmudic content. Historical context makes all the difference.

Woe! History is a great teacher.

I chose this book after Mayim Bialik said it was her favorite in an interview with Aish.com

What a book!

Stunning, gripping and real. Everyone should read this to gain perspective on history and the parallels to our reality today!

I mostly agree with Elisha

Elisha may have been a person at one time. But it seems more so he is a straw man in the Talmud, where he is from originally, and by Milton Steinberg in this book.

The Ancient Greeks had their own set of ethics, which were not explored deeply. Elisha had his whole life to explore these ideas, and was portrayed as someone who earnestly learned about others. Which hints that he is fictional.

But even considering that, I end up agreeing with Elisha. Having clear and consistent thoughts is not a cultural thing. The people in the story put belief before correcting reasoning mistakes, and did not understand nor appreciate cause and effect. This was due to an idea of ethical choices for G-d being something that changes physical reality as a reward. But, they were just causing problems for other people. Elisha did not have a lot of options.

This recording is terrible

The audio level of the recording is terrible. Sounds like a table read. The tempo and volume of the narrator sucks.

Audio is TERRIBLE. Story is great.

I don’t understand how a professional audio product can be so poorly recorded. The narrator is partially to blame, as enunciation is poor, especially at the end of words and phrases. This could be solved by applying a little audio compression. It’s really too bad because the story is so engaging.