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    My Jesus Year: A Rabbi's Son Wanders the Bible Belt in Search of His Own Faith
    Unavailable
    My Jesus Year: A Rabbi's Son Wanders the Bible Belt in Search of His Own Faith
    Unavailable
    My Jesus Year: A Rabbi's Son Wanders the Bible Belt in Search of His Own Faith
    Ebook359 pages6 hours

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

    By Benyamin Cohen

    3.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    One day a Georgia-born son of an Orthodox rabbi discovers that his enthusiasm for Judaism is flagging. He observes the Sabbath, he goes to synagogue, and he even flies to New York on weekends for a series of "speed dates" with nice, eligible Jewish girls. But, something is missing. Looking out of his window and across the street at one of the hundreds of churches in Atlanta, he asks, "What would it be like to be a Christian?"

    So begins Benyamin Cohen's hilarious journey that is My Jesus Year—part memoir, part spiritual quest, and part anthropologist's mission. Among Cohen's many adventures (and misadventures), he finds himself in some rather unlikely places: jumping into the mosh-pit at a Christian rock concert, seeing his face projected on the giant JumboTron of an African-American megachurch, visiting a potential convert with two young Mormon missionaries, attending a Christian "professional wrestling" match, and waking up early for a sunrise Easter service on top of Stone Mountain—a Confederate memorial and former base of operations for the KKK.

    During his year-long exploration, Cohen sees the best and the worst of Christianity— #8212;from megachurches to storefront churches; from crass commercialization of religion to the simple, moving faith of the humble believer; from the profound to the profane to the just plain laughable. Throughout, he keeps an open heart and mind, a good sense of humor, and takes what he learns from Christianity to reflect on his own faith and relationship to God. By year's end, to Cohen's surprise, his search for universal answers and truths in the Bible Belt actually make him a better Jew.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 6, 2009
    ISBN9780061980336
    Unavailable
    My Jesus Year: A Rabbi's Son Wanders the Bible Belt in Search of His Own Faith

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    Reviews for My Jesus Year

    3.5/5

    53 ratings13 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I love his humor and his honesty on the subject
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book -- the author is very funny but also has good insights into both traditional Judaism and modern Christianity. I learned as much or even more about Judaism than I expected -- the author spends a lot of time describing the Jewish traditions and ritual he was raised with while he explores and studies the Christian continuum by going to multiple church services, a Christian rock concert and even Ulimate Christian wrestling.

      The only thing that occasionally annoyed me is when the author complained about Judaism being so archaic and rigid, and I wanted to say to him, "Well, that's because you have only experienced Orthodox Judaism -- have you considered trying a Reform, Conservative, or Reconstructionist congregation?" But I understand that being raised Orthodox, he couldn't conceive of switching sects.
    • 4/5
      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.
    • 3/5
      A quick read, and an engaging one. It feels similar to 'stunt' books like A. J. Jacob's ''The Year of Living Biblically, Derfner's 'Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever,' and 'Self-Made Man' by Norah Vincent (about going 'undercover' as a man in a bowling league, a monastery, etc.).As you might be able to tell, I have a weakness for these books. At best, they can be thought-provoking and informative; at worst, they're about young writers doing entertaining things to give themselves something to write about.Cohen's is near the middle of the pack. It feels a little contrived, but I believe him when he says that he's searching for a closer connection to Judaism through his year-long sojourn in Christian churches. Yes, he seeks out groups for their story value (wrestlers for Jesus, peculiar sects, evangelical mega-churches), but his parsings of the differences between Judaism and Christianity are interesting, if sometimes a bit pat.He also tries to go in with an open, respectful mind, but like me he's a smartass, and sometimes his discomfort with the situation leads to cheap wisecracks. He does turn his jokes on himself more often than his subjects. It wasn't as laugh-out-loud funny as Jacobs' book, but I enjoyed learning more about Orthodox daily life and religious practice. A quick, light read.
    • 4/5
      A really fascinating look at religion and judaism through the prism of the american south . The book was extremely readable, made even moreso by some of the author's excellent one liners. on flying to NYC looking for a future wife: "They were looking for Woody Allen in his 20s. I was looking for Scarlett O'Hara in a shtetl."On meeting his current wife, a convert to judaism: "She was still jonesing for Jesus then. Now she's making moves on Moses."I'm impressed at the efforts to which Cohen went to secure permission from a rabbi for this and I was left thinking of my comparative religion class in college where we were asked to experience religious services that were different to our own. I wonder what Dad, a former Catholic priest, would think of Cohen's journey. I wish that he'd been able to expand more on the different services he attended, especially those with which I'm entirely unfamiliar such as the Black Hebrews.I'm not 100% sure if it's true but Cohen cites a stat that, if true, is just mind blowing: "In the United States more people pray to Jesus on Sunday then atend all the weekend sporting events combined". Really? I'm not sure I know more than 10 of these people, and certainly not my age. I also found it very amusing how he almost feared Christians out of knowing so few.Part of what I enjoyed in this book is the books he recommended throughout his quest, which have since inflated my wishlist ;-) A great read for anyone trying to understand Judaism, Christianity or the Bible Belt. Wonder how his quest miht have differed in a different area that didn't feature, for example, Christian Wrestling
    • 4/5
      I had to devote a bit of thoght to reviewing My Jesus Year. On the surface this book is kind of flip: a young male journalist tasting forbidden fruit and finding it not much to his liking. However, there's a lot going on beneath that surface. Author Cohen starts out as that all-to-cordinary character, The Boy in Rebellion. He's lost enthusiasm for his faith, but not the faith itself. He's tired of feeling as though he's outside the mainstream American culture. He conceives of the odd idea of exploring the varieties of Christian faith availabe to him as a way to recapture his own flagging beliefs. Since he lives in Atlanta, which may be called the Buckle of the Bible Belt, he has plenty of experiences to choose from.Cohen keeps a remarkably open mind; he visits as wide a variety as possible of Christian churches; he seems to have a lot of fun (not unknd fun, either); he maintains a respectful but not obsequious attitude toward all these avenues of worship. Ulitmately he discovers that his faith is important to him, that the "practice" of faith is just that--a way to become a better person of faith; and that the dry spells in one's spiritual life cna lead, however slowly, to a renewal of one's belief and joy in that beliefe.One thing that particularly struck me was Cohen's acceptance of the hugely divergent ways that Christians worhsip here in the U.S. This book is really an itneresting exploration af a personal spiritual journey, without being cloying or boring.I took off a half star for the journalistic style of writing. Even so, this is a book well worth reading.
    • 4/5
      I had to devote a bit of thoght to reviewing My Jesus Year. On the surface this book is kind of flip: a young male journalist tasting forbidden fruit and finding it not much to his liking. However, there's a lot going on beneath that surface. Author Cohen starts out as that all-to-cordinary character, The Boy in Rebellion. He's lost enthusiasm for his faith, but not the faith itself. He's tired of feeling as though he's outside the mainstream American culture. He conceives of the odd idea of exploring the varieties of Christian faith availabe to him as a way to recapture his own flagging beliefs. Since he lives in Atlanta, which may be called the Buckle of the Bible Belt, he has plenty of experiences to choose from.Cohen keeps a remarkably open mind; he visits as wide a variety as possible of Christian churches; he seems to have a lot of fun (not unknd fun, either); he maintains a respectful but not obsequious attitude toward all these avenues of worship. Ulitmately he discovers that his faith is important to him, that the "practice" of faith is just that--a way to become a better person of faith; and that the dry spells in one's spiritual life cna lead, however slowly, to a renewal of one's belief and joy in that beliefe.One thing that particularly struck me was Cohen's acceptance of the hugely divergent ways that Christians worhsip here in the U.S. This book is really an itneresting exploration af a personal spiritual journey, without being cloying or boring.I took off a half star for the journalistic style of writing. Even so, this is a book well worth reading.
    • 4/5
      Benjamin Cohen, an observant orthodox Jew, son of a rabbi and the only one of his siblings not to be either a rabbi or married to one found he was feeling spiritually alienated from his religion and its "black hole of laws", rituals and prohibitions but didn't even consider not practicing, that much of a black sheep he wasn't. Instead he decided to visit various Christian churches for a year hoping that would kind of jump start his faith. He had always been jealous of the fun he thought Christians had, he thought he could find out why Christianity was becoming more and more popular while Jews were practicing their religion less and less. I was surprised to find that while Judaism is not a proselytizing religion there is a sort of ministry among Jews for non practicing Jews to coax them back to the faith. Of course, by the end of the book his faith is indeed revitalized. I admit it was a rather strange book for an atheist to like, but his talk of his community and his family, especially his grandfather, and their importance in his life got to me. Faith is the glue that holds that community together, so he helped me see why it was so important to him.
    • 5/5
      At first glance, the premise of this book seems rather silly. The son of an Orthodox Jewish rabbi spends a year exploring the churches of the Bible Belt. Feeling bored and uninspired by his strict religious observance, journalist Benyamin Cohen finds a rabbi (obviously not his dad) who gives him “permission” to visit these churches. Being from Atlanta, Georgia, Cohen begins a quest to find inspiration for his own faith by visiting Christian places of worship.I was distraught considering how Cohen’s father must have felt about his son going on this journey. This issue was addressed in the book, but nearly at the end. I think that was the perfect place to have discussed this so that it did not interfere with the way the reader experiences the author's travels.There were quite a few Christian groups and services which Cohen explored, including one which was involved with religious “wrestling” and another which did a sunrise service on top of a granite mountain (an experience not unlike my own years ago on top of what is believed to be the actual Mt. Sinai). The two descriptions that fascinated me the most in this book, however, were that of the Black Hebrews (not Christian) and that of the Catholic church. I knew about the Black Hebrews from having lived in Israel but never knew about their history. I was delighted to learn about this in Cohen’s book. In addition, I was mortified when Cohen decided to go to confession in a Catholic church. I have no idea how he ever pulled this one off, but he did so.The book is laugh-out-loud funny at times. I say this with reservation. This is not true for the whole book because there were times it seemed that Cohen’s humor was condescending. I’m sure that is not true because he reiterated several times throughout the book that he respected the religion of others and was not putting other faiths down. I think the feeling I got was just Cohen’s attempt at humor that succeeded more in some places than in others.I was hoping that the end of the book would not be something like, “I lost my religion and now I found it.” I won’t tell you how it ended other than to say I found the ending very moving. I’m Jewish and love my religion. I think there is much for people of all faiths to learn from this book. Knowing that this is Cohen’s debut book, I must say I’m in the mood to read more of his writing. I hope there will be another book in the making for the future. If so, I’d really like to read it.
    • 5/5
      Interesting, funny, educational; I loved this book. Cohen's style is easy and likable. I highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in a light-hearted look at the Jewish and Christian faiths.
    • 3/5
      Cohen is, from all appearances, a very devout and conservative Jew. On the inside, however, he feels his spiritual life is empty. He longs to experience genuine spirituality. In addition, he has always had a secret envy of Christians.Somehow this leads Cohen to embark on a year-long adventure exploring Bible Belt Christianity. One more thing you should know about Cohen: He is a funny guy. That explains a lot. For example, it explains why Cohen spends his year visiting rock Christians and wrestling Christians and speaking-in-tongues Christians and healing Christians. He stops in on the fringes. Don’t be thinking Cohen is planning to stop in your little small town Christian church. No, he is looking for Christianity, but he is also looking for a good story.Mixed feelings about this. Cohen assures us and assures us he is not seeking to mock Christianity, that he wants to find the deeply spiritual Christians. But time after time he ends up chatting with another group of people that could have wandered out of the loony bin and, intentionally or not, he mocks. Cohen is very condescending toward Christians, at times, when he sees what he deems misinterpretations of the Law and misapplications of the Law. He says he finds many Christians who are much like him, going through the motions without really experiencing that depth one wishes for, and that is probably true. He also spoke with several Christians who helped him find his way back to his own religion and who helped him grow a little, including a priest who encouraged him to keep going through the motions until he experienced the depth. Very mixed feelings about this.
    • 4/5
      What happens when an orthodox Jew decides to explore Christian churches? This is an interesting journey of self exploration into religion and faith. It's also funny to see different worlds collide; even leaving theology & belief aside, the methods for expressing religious faith vary widely. There is no attempt to convert you to any particular faith in this book, it's simply a personal story of one man's experience.
    • 4/5
      Benyamin Cohen's father is a rabbi, and his six other siblings went into the "family business." Why, then, is Mr Cohen writing about a year in which he went church hopping and exploring Christianity? This book is a spiritual quest, a voyage to understand why he felt so disconnected with the religion of his family.A wonderful book - he is self-depreciating (but not too much), insightful, humorous, and thoughtful.What Mr Cohen has learned while visiting Mega-churches, attending WWF with Christian wrestlers, and listening to Christian rock is that there is much that Jews can learn to promote judaism and make synagogues more interactive and meaningful. His journey brought him closer to his religion. His year in the Bible Belt made him a better Jew. I really really enjoyed this read.