web analytics
May 25, 2013 /16 Sivan, 5773
At a Glance ▼
Sections
Sponsored Post
The Tosfos Yomtov was convinced that the death of 300,000 –600,000 Jews during the Chmielnicki massacres of 1648-49 were because of improper Tefila. Communicated: Tefilla

Chillul Tefila Bifarhesia, as well as halachicly challenged verbiage and dress, are external manifestations of a critical lack of personal yiras shomayim which has lethal consequences.



Home » Sections » Books »

Title: Moses: A Memoir

Published: February 11th, 2004
tell a friend

Title: Moses: A Memoir
Author: Joel Cohen
Publisher: Paulist Press, Mahwah, N.J.

 

Not everyone who imagines what Moshe Rabbeinu might have thought as he carried the Tablets down the mountain visualizes this scene in the humorous vein of a Mel Brooks. This is a serious book, written by a practicing Orthodox Jew who is an instructor of legal ethics at Brooklyn Law School, and who wants his reader to “appreciate anew the Bible’s view of Moses and his soaring accomplishment.”

“A synergy of the theoretical and the practical, the real and the ideal - Joel Cohen brings Moses out of the shadows of legend, providing new insights and images to a real-life hero of his people,” says Rabbi Marc Schneir, morah d’asrah of The Hampton/New York Synagogue, Manhattan (of which Mr. Cohen is a member), as quoted on the dust jacket.

Cohen’s “biography,” written for both Jewish and non-Jewish readers, memorializes the canon of Judaic philosophy as expounded by the greatest prophet who ever lived.

Some may ask if it’s proper to imagine our greatest leader as a mere mortal, as Cohen has. What purpose does it serve to display a man with feelings and emotions, who may have found impossible the trials and tests of his forbears, including Father Abraham? Is this demonstrative of the spiritual heights that men are capable of, including the leadership of a people who constantly disappointed Moshe?

Most Christian publishing houses, as Paulist Press is, publish works that represent themselves as coming from a “Judeo-Christian” perspective, but from this Moses: A Memoir is a complete departure. Nowhere is the Torah referred to as “The Hebrew Bible,” or “The Old Testament,” and all biblical quotations are from the Hertz Chumash. All his philosophic insights are Judaic, unfiltered through Christian scholarship.

Why should we consider Cohen’s tome at all, when there is so much being published by Judaic and University publishing houses? I’m not certain if this is a first, but the very idea of a Christian publishing house dealing with Judaic themes on a non-confrontational basis is both admirable and refreshing. It’s an attractive, slim volume that will further elucidate many points concerning Moshe, and would make a nice gift.

All the biblical testimonies and legends attempt to explain Moshe to us, but his thoughts are never explicit. Moshe left no private diary sharing his innermost feelings, which are only subject to speculation, and Moses: A Memoir makes an excellent conjecture.

The book made a stir when it first arrived in bookshops this past summer, achieving a surprise
position on the Catholic Book Publishers Association’s bestseller list. Cohen told The New York Times’s book reviewer that it was Rabbi Israel Wohlgelernter of The Young Israel of Fifth Avenue who challenged him to write it.

Joel Cohen’s acts as moderator at legal forums such as one held recently at The Fifth Avenue
Synagogue on “The Religious Felon: A Paradox?” in which he participated with his friend and fellow criminal attorney Ivan S. Fisher, novelist Norman Mailer, and the synagogue’s rabbi, Sol Roth.

tell a friend

About the Author:


You might also be interested in:


no comments

You must log in to post a comment.

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Current Top Story
David Arenberg lost many things during his nearly 12 years in prison, but he found a connection to Judaism.
A Jew Grows in Prison
Latest Sections Stories
V-E-Day-052413-Grandpa
Sections → Magazine → Teens and Twenties

Nearly half a million of them fought in Red Army uniforms, under communist slogans but with a personal vengeance that was solely the result of Jewish experience. More than the “Greatest Generation,” they were the living superheroes hidden in plain sight.

hot-busy-kitchen-10912000
Sections → Jewess Press → Daily Living

It’s all over.

The orchestra is still, the lights are dimmed. Your simcha outfits hang in your closet, silent witnesses to a time you will treasure in your mind and heart forever.

Touro-052413
Sections → Features

Scene One:

After noticing that you can’t log into your computer, your pulse quickens as you are called into your supervisor’s office. S/he has some bad news. You are being laid off. You have 15 minutes to clean out your desk and surrender your cell phone before security escorts you out of the building. Job termination, especially in the corporate world, can be heartless.

Omer Map (website image) by Yitzchok Moully. Courtesy the artist.
Sections → Arts

I have always had a problem with the Omer. Doing the mitzvah of counting the Omer was of course pretty easy. Remembering to start the second evening of Passover and remembering to stop the day before Shavous took a little concentration but somehow I always managed. No, for me the nagging problem was always why was I doing this in the first place, other than the fact it was a biblical (according to the Rambam) commandment.

Sections → Magazine → On Our Own/Cheryl Kupfer

With the semi-mourning period of Sefira behind us, and the festival of Shavuot as well (as evidenced by the tightness of our clothing due to over-indulging in irresistible versions of cheesecake that is an integral component of celebrating our receipt of the Torah), our community can look forward to participating in joyous engagement parties and weddings.

Sections → Family → Marriage and Relationships

Dear Dr. Yael:

Do you really believe that the Internet is the reason why the divorce rate is so high among young couples? This may be so in some cases, but what about the fact that many singles are pressured to get married at a young age despite not having any idea what they are looking for in a mate? And add to that the fact that many are pressured to make a decision about marriage after dating for a very short period of time.

Sections → Family → Marriage and Relationships

From the moment they stand under the chuppah, newlyweds have two years to enjoy the special bliss that new love brings. This new finding, reported by the New York Times, is based on a study undertaken by American and European researchers. 1,761 people who got married and stayed married over 15 years were followed. The research shows that after two years the couples moved into a more companionable state in their relationships.

Sections → Family → Parenting Our Children

Shel Silverstein’s 1974 poem “Where The Sidewalk Ends” is intended to paint a magical picture of a world of peace and serenity far away from the “black and dark streets.” At the time, perhaps the end of the sidewalk was a place that was “measured and slow.” Today, however, for many parents, where the sidewalk ends can feel like a scary place.

Sections → Community → South Florida

Florida is famous for sparkling water. We have the beautiful Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico surrounding our coast. We have bays, lakes, canals and, of course, an incredible abundance of swimming pools in homes, resorts, apartment complexes and city parks.

Sections → Community → South Florida

The buzz is back as Camp Gan Israel Florida Overnight gears up for another fantastic summer, CGI Florida style. What makes CGI Florida so different from all the other overnight camps? It’s all in the details.

Sections → Magazine → Teens and Twenties

Leah Katz, a TeenZone camper at Oorah’s TheZone summer camp and an 11th grader at Midwood High School, read her winning essay about how TheZone changed her views on Judaism at the Jewish Heritage Awards Ceremony held at Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes’s office in April. The purpose of the Jewish Heritage Essay Contest is to acquaint public school students with Jewish history and customs and to help foster a deeper understanding of Jewish culture. The contest is open to students of all ethnic and religious backgrounds. Leah’s essay is reproduced in full below.

Sections → Jewess Press → Impact Of Women On Jewish History/Prof. L. Jackson

Moshe Sharett, the head of the Jewish Agency’s Political Department, visited Egypt in 1945. In Cairo he met a most remarkable young woman, a beautiful journalist who was the darling of Egyptian high society – from high-ranking military brass, to culture icons and Muslim sheikhs, to the court of King Faruk.

Sections → Family → Marriage and Relationships

The two proceeded to talk about everyday things and surprisingly her mother-in-law did not find anything else to criticize. This occurred a few more times, with my client changing the topic every time by complimenting her mother-in-law or mentioning something positive about her.

More Articles from Aharon Ben Anshel
book-scattered-tribe
Sections → Books

There are three kinds of travelers: there are tourists, there are businesspeople, and then there are historians like Ben G. Frank.

The last kind doesn’t simply go from here to there. They try to relive history and find the real meaning behind what they experience.

Sections → Books

Behind “the news” there’s almost always a story that isn’t being reported, and certain kinds of phenomenon occur almost simultaneously all over the world in almost every era.

Sections → Books

Whether this is a memoir or autobiography or whether this book was written as an article of regional diplomacy, King Abdullah does come across in this book as a quite sincere person making a valiant effort at regional diplomacy, who is trying to quell terrorism in the Mideast and raise the social and economic levels of his countrymen.

Sections → Books

As any psychologist can tell you – no two people who see an event come away with the very same experience. Criminologists and detectives who question people who may have witnessed a crime experience the fact that several different people will report various versions of the event.

Sections → Books

As any psychologist can tell you – no two people who see an event come away with the very same experience. Criminologists and detectives who question people who may have witnessed a crime experience the fact that several different people will report various versions of the event.

Sections → Books

I’ve always been amazed at how historians pore over some old documents and books in some dusty basement storehouses, and yet are able to come up with a volume that’s readable and enlightening – and even entertaining. Unfortunately, most of them aren’t, but this is surely an exception.

Sections → Books

When we first received Rabbi Weinstein’s new tome, following the great success of his first book, Up, Up and Oy Vey, we expected a collection of guf-faws and chortles.

Sections → Books

I was once a member of a congregation during a time that the New York Times was affected by a strike.

    Latest Poll

    If you could only choose one of the following scenarios regarding Chareidi IDF service, which would you choose?





    View Results

    Loading ... Loading ...

Printed from: http://www.jewishpress.com/sections/title-moses-a-memoir/2004/02/11/

Scan this QR code to visit this page online:

Related posts:

  1. Jewish Philosopher Rabbi David Hartman Dies at 81
Close