Rabbi, Rabbi

Rabbi, Rabbi

From Booklist Kane's love story features Yakov, a young man groomed by his Orthodox Jewish family to be a rabbi, and Rebecca, a young woman he meets while working a summer job as a waiter in a Catskill resort. Even before this meeting, Yakov is feeling slight tugs of rebellion against the assumptions of his parents. When Rebecca's father learns the identity of Yakov's parents, the pair are separated. The mystery behind that act lingers until mid-novel, when the pair are suddenly reunited in a college library where Yakov is rebelliously incorporating philosophy studies into his rabbinical training. Ironically, it is Rebecca who has found even stronger faith and wishes to become a rabbi, prohibited under Orthodox law but permitted by Reform Judaism. Through these tumultuous relationships, romantic and familial, Kane delivers some stunning portraits of the Jewish faith in fact and practice. Despite some moments of awkwardness, this first novel is a warm, richly colored story that will move readers of any faith. Denise Perry Donavin Rabbi, Rabbi is a story about love that begins in youth and flourishes through years of separation and longing. It is a story of faith as two people find themselves and each other despite overpowering obstacles. It is a story of courage as they face a haunting family secret that threatens to tear them apart.Amid a world indelibly altered by the Holocaust and the formation of the State of Israel, Yakov and Rebecca must make their choices unfettered by the devisive bounds of modern religion.Rabbi, Rabbi introduces a remarkable voice to our fiction and gives us a reading experience to cherish. From Publishers Weekly This earnest first novel by an ordained rabbi and psychotherapist offers a realistic view of the challenges that confront Orthodox Jewish youth who seek to meld their religious beliefs with a modern American lifestyle. Yaakov and Rebecca?attractive, bright and compassionate teenagers?meet in the Catskills and fall in love. A secret from their parents' pasts keeps them apart until their early 20s when their paths cross again as members of Manhattan's Upper West Side's Jewish singles scene. While their passion for each other has not cooled, there are new obstacles that have also alienated both of them from their parents. Yaakov has left the insular, Eastern European-like world of his very orthodox family and, instead of committing himself solely to the study of the Talmud, has chosen Yeshivah University, an institution where Torah and secular studies share equal footing. Rebecca's feminist egalitarian views have led her to believe that her deep religious commitment can only be realized via the rabbinate; and the reform movement, which is a complete anathema to her Orthodox roots, offers the best opportunity for women who wish to be ordained. Kane is best when describing Yaakov's tensions with his father, a renowned rabbinical scholar, and his conflicts while simultaneously pursuing a Ph.D. in philosophy and a rabbinical degree. Curiously, the lovers seem to exist in a vacuum: there is almost no specific time setting or even reference to any historical or political event that might have affected young people in recent decades. In addition, most of the writing is bland and somewhat plodding, and the plot is predictable. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. Review From Author Faye Kellerman:Andrew Kane writes with keen wit and well crafted insight...a must read, literary and spiritual journey.From Hadassah Magazine:In true potboiler fashion...walks us through his character's journeys with insight, sensitivity, and fine attention to detail that are rare.