Customer Reviews

My Jesus Year: A Rabbi's Son Wanders the Bible Belt in Search of His Own Faith

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Some of the best recent books on faith and spirituality are from "outsiders." Secular scientist E.O. Wilson wrote "The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth," atheist Hemant Mehta wrote "I Sold My Soul on eBay: Viewing Faith through an Atheist's Eyes," and, let's face it, Anne Lamott's popular persona is built on her outsider status.

It's in that spirit that I strongly recommend Benyamin Cohen's "My Jesus Year."

He's funny. I mean, he's Anne Lamott funny. And, he's friendly as he's having fun with others and with himself. You'll find yourself chuckling as he describes trying to slip into an enormous Pentecostal megachurch to learn what's drawing thousands upon thousands of Americans to these venues.

This "five-foot-two bespectacled Jewish kid in a mosh pit of faith" suddenly discovers that the church's video crews have zeroed in on his face and he's shocked to discover: "My Jewish face on Jesus' JumboTron for all to see! Oh, God, forgive me."

We learn a lot about Benyamin's Jewish life, his family life, his vignettes from this year-long Christian pilgrimage and, in the end, his conclusions about faith in America.

In closing, he writes a pitch-perfect summary of how millions of young Americans see our national smorgasbord of faith: "Despite the gospel choirs and Christian rockers, despite the baptismal baths and Christmas trees, despite the wine, wafers, and confessional booths, and even despite our theological and philosophical differences, there is a deeper thread running throughout. There are many roads leading to spiritual maturity and even to God Himself, and all of us have to find our own way."

This is an important new voice. His journey is fun to follow and, when it's done, you'll begin to realize that many of us feel like spiritual outsiders today, looking in on houses of worship and wondering how we might fit inside.

Though the promo for the book stressed hilarity, there's much more to this year with Jesus than mere humor. As a Los Angeleno, I was struck by the stunning variety of "Jesus" experiences available within only a few hours of Atlanta. Cohen samples the beautiful solemnity of high church cathedral and self-denying cloister. The next thing you know he's rocking with full gospel as the only white guy in the building. His description of going to confession brought me into the confessional with him. The author is an honest reporter of what he experienced, and credits the year with deepening his appreciation for the faith into which he was born. My only quibble is that the subtitle is a better description than the title. If only we could spend a year with Jesus, and not with Christians. But that is another story. This book is a great - and worthwhile - read. Thanks, Benyamin!

First off - this is not one of those stories of conversion.

Rather, Benyamin Cohen does not feel fulfilled by his experiences with the synagogue or the hundreds of rules that an Orthodox Jew must follow. He decides to go to the other side of the street and see if the grass is greener (he literally grew up across the street from a Methodist church that seemed so much more vibrant and alive and happy than the synagogue that was attached to his house).

Cohen gets permission from a Rabbi to spend a year with the Christians - he goes to church every Sunday (after synagogue on Saturdays this makes for some long weekends I am sure) and treats the experience as a wandering anthropologist looking into the strange and wondrous world of Christianity.

What follows is a remarkable journal of one man's exploration of Judaism and Christianity - some of it mainstream, some odd (Christian professional wrestling, for example) but all of it treated respectfully by a man who is searching for what he's missing in his own faith. On the way he finds it and the reader is blessed with wonderful writing, witty insights, touching observations and, quite simply, the experience of a great read.

I am writing from the perspective of an active, involved Christian and I find myself chuckling at some of his offbeat observations about the quirky things we do. I also learned a lot about Judaism along the way. I am sure some would find offense, but...whatever. It was not written in the spirit of offense and if they are offended they should grow up some.

One of the best books of the year for me.

How many times have you started reading a book with a preconceived idea of how you would like it? I certainly did so with this book. The premise sounds eerily similar to that of The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs, which to this day remains my all time favorite book. And because Jacobs offers a cover quote for My Jesus Year, it was easy to assume this memoir was going to be very similar.

But talk about being pleasantly surprised! Done from an anthropological perspective, Cohen does something I've talked about doing for years! I've often wondered and considered exploring different churches every weekend just to see how different people worship. My motives have never been to rethink my religion as I'm confident in my beliefs and where I am with them. But for pure interest sake, it has always appealed to me to visit neighborhood and local churches of different denominations. That is exactly what Cohen does for an entire year. (Well, sort of. He kind of leans toward the other extreme visiting a Christian wrestling match, a Christian rock concert, megachurches, as well as a monastery; so on and so forth...)

Born Jewish and the son of a Rabbi, Cohen's quest is more profound in the sense that he is exploring his religion and seeking knowledge and thirsting for that closeness to God. In a rut with Judaism he dives into Christianity, in a new location every single weekend for one year. While still observing Sabbath on Saturday, Cohen went to Christian churches on Sundays as well. Again, for an entire year. That seems overwhelming to experience that much that often.

While reading laugh out loud funny (once I got past my predetermined judgments of how the book would read), this is one of the wittiest memoirs I've ever come across. The depth to his conclusions after visiting a new church or Christian body are astounding and surprising. Cohen writes with a sincerity that will appeal to every reader no matter your religion or lack thereof.

His humor is engaging, his story is intriguing and his memoir is both revealing and enjoyable. I'm happy to share this book (which I had purchased a few years ago) with over 30 swappers on the wish list on PaperBackSwap. This is a story that should be shared and I'm glad I finally picked it up to read.

Imagine this movie pitch: An Orthodox Jew, feeling disconnected from his faith and living in the American South, decides to go to church for a year. Mensch worships with goyim; hilarity ensues. In the end, said Jew learns that his faith is what he makes of it. I imagine him doing a fist pump; freeze frame; "Oy, oy, oy, oy!" And everything's wrapped up in a neat little package: Benyamin Cohen's My Jesus Year: A Rabbi's Son Wanders the Bible Belt in Search of His Own Faith.

I'm of two minds about this book. Cohen's critics have accused him of being shallow, of failing to more deeply explore the issues he sets out to. Although I was initially surprised at such criticisms, I was, upon finishing the book, forced to agree with them. Cohen's purpose is not so much to worship with Christians as it is to observe their ways of worship. Recalling the Methodist church across the street from the house in which he grew up, Cohen longs to taste the forbidden fruit of Christianity, but only as an observer. In short, Cohen's mission is to rejuvenate his own faith (strictly within the confines of Orthodoxy) and, in a larger sense, investigate why his coreligionists continue to abandon their religion while, at the same time, Christians are so successful. Why is Christianity so fun?

This is potentially deep stuff, worthy of careful reflection. Readers won't find that here: Given Cohen's determination to remain strictly within his faith, and perhaps compounded by his journalistic sensibilities, Cohen delivers well-rendered chapters--the personalities and events he describes are truly brought to life--each of which end with a handy little life lesson. All wrapped up like the Christmas presents he so desperately wants to enjoy.

Trouble is, Cohen ignores resources that might have been handy during his quest. (That said, they may have been outside the scope of a book focused on his journeys among Christians.) Reform Jews are discounted early as "culturally Jewish," a critique I think that many at the temple I attend might find galling, to say the least. And Cohen is married to a Christian convert to Orthododoxy--the daughter of a pastor! She, too, is dismissed as a source of inspiration early in the book.

There is something going on in My Jesus Year, though. It is a well-written book, deeply funny, and it explores unexpected people and movements--such as the Black Hebrews, of whom I had never previously heard. And it is thought-provoking. I was forced to wonder: Judaism is a religion of right practice, not of right thought. If I am "spiritually" connected to my faith (a notion that many traditional rabbis would say is unnecessary), does that make any difference if I'm not following the Law? Can I rightly call myself a Jew? Or, as Judaism encounters modernity, is it right of me to say that the scholars of old were just men, that Judaism has always been an evolving religion, and that maybe, just maybe, flipping a light switch on Shabbat isn't really "work"? This is, for me at least, food for thought.

Don't expect revelations or deep insights from My Jesus Year. But if you want to be amused, or if you're willing to apply Cohen's lessons to your own faith, then you might want to give it a look.

I enjoyed this book very much. Cohen takes us on a tour of various Christian activities (I couldn't quite figure out what word would describe anything from Christian wrestling to Catholic confession). Cohen's writing is insightful and often humorous. He finds the good in each experience. I learned a lot about Judaism as well as differing expressions of Christianity. And I laughed in the process.

After reading "The Year of Living Biblically", I had high hopes for "My Jesus Year". I was looking for a similar style of humor mixed with religious discovery, a mix of entertainment and faith. While this book was written well and had its good points, it was just "ok".

I appreciate the author's desire to share his perspective as he ventured out of his Jewish comfort zone to explore the mysteries (from his view) of the Christian faith, and his discoveries and insights were valuable. However, each chapter plodded along, and most of his experiences were similar. The lack of diversity in the story made this, for me, rather hum-drum.

If you are on or have experienced your own journey of discovery, you may find "My Jesus Year" valuable as you share the author's experience. However, if you are interested in reading it for entertainment, I do not recommend it.

Mr. Cohen may have come closer to his faith by his year of observing the Christian church, but he helped me to come closer to my Savior. In his observations of the Christian church I was able to view things from the perspective of an outsider and regain the freshness and awe that is my faith and relationship with Jesus. This review is not the typical, analytical thesis, but I was not able to read this book analytically. It was a spiritual, funny and moving memoir that I will suggest to anyone as well as continue to mull over and over, I was sort of sad that his year ended!

It might seem paradoxical that an Orthodox Jew can be considered a seeker. After all, isn't the heart of orthodoxy its rigid (even joyful) adherence to minute regulations?

Benyamin Cohen is the odd man in his family. The son of an Orthodox Rabbi in Atlanta, he is the only one among his siblings not to have become a rabbi or to marry one. Unwilling to shuck his faith, he is nonetheless desperate for something deeper than what he sees as a sort of bondage to the continual blessings and washings that are part and parcel of Orthodoxy. While not wanting to become Christian, he is curious about the majority US faith, and wonders whether Orthodoxy can learn something from it. The result is a year-long odyssey among the goyim, starting with his convert-wife's evangelical family and penetrating into the often strange world of Christian worship.

It would have been easy for Cohen to have lampooned Christianity as practiced in the Bible Belt. He quickly runs into the kind of hucksterism that often gives the faith a bad name. The purveyors of the Prosperity Gospel, who sells believers on the idea that God wants you to be rich, fill stadiums while cynically emptying bank accounts. But Cohen also encounters Christians whose quieter faith sustains them through illness and difficulty. It's the good heart of this book that Cohen is genuinely moved by the sick who find strength and solace (if not physical healing) in God's presence.

"My Jesus Year" is very funny, smart and well-written. While shining a light on seldom-seen corner of the Christian experience (Christian *wrestling*, anyone?) it also provides a rare glimpse into the world of Orthodox Judaism as experienced by one young man. Cohen's description of the Orthodox New York dating scene -- to which he literally had to fly across the country several times a month during his twenties -- held all the cute desperation of dating the world over. Cohen has written about the spiritual quest from a very real and very modern point of view. His book should be an inspiration to any open-minded religious person looking to deepen their faith journey from the perspective of their own religious idiom.

Cohen is a pretty good writer, and the book moves at a nice pace. However,

(1) He constantly tries to be funny, and he just isn't that funny a guy.
(2) While he claims to have gotten this idea to learn from Christian spirituality, it reeks of "here's a book idea that will SELL--Orthodox Jew spends a year in church." He certainly gives no indication of actually learning much about Christian spirituality, just Christian marketing.
(3) He notes that his editor cut 100 pages out of the book. Then why leave in a chapter about the Black Hebrews, who aren't Christian and thus have nothing to do with the book? And why leave in a lot of repetition? How many times to we have to be reminded of his mother's untimely death?