My Jesus Year: A Rabbi's Son Wanders the Bible Belt in Search of His Own Faith | 
 enlarge | Author: Benyamin Cohen
Publisher: HarperOne
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
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Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 38698
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0061245178
Dewey Decimal Number: 305.38696092
EAN: 9780061245176
ASIN: 0061245178
Publication Date: October 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Fantastic for Jews or Christians, only 1 small weakness... January 6, 2009
Cohen's book is a very quick read, and can keep someone with an open mind enthralled for it's full breadth. Each chapter is more like a diary entry, making it feel very "in the moment." As a "semi-practicing" person myself, Cohen's work helped me to appreciate (my) Judaism and (others') Christianity more thoroughly.
The quasi-glaring weakness of this text is that Cohen misses a critical Jewish-Christian transition group. He went out of his way to visit (and write rather glowingly of) the Black Hebrews, but there is no mention of the vastly larger (and equally controversial) "bridge" denomination: "Messianic" Jews and Christians. There are at least 10 Messianic "synagogues" or "fellowships" in the Atlanta area alone (probably more), and many more throughout the US, Israel, and worldwide, but there is no mention of them in the text. The reality is that Messianics represent and influence an exponentially greater slice of the population than the Black Hebrews and several of the other groups he visited (such as the modern-day monks, though I absolutely loved that story). They should have at least been given short shrift. Cohen gives them none.
Anyway, given Cohen's background, I can understand and/or sympathize with whatever reasons may have caused him to ignore "Messianic Judaism" (or perhaps he just forgot about them), but the fact that he missed perhaps the most noticeable "elephant in the room" makes this book miss the 5-star mark ever so slightly. It's still a wonderful book, and I recommend it highly to friends, family, and to you!
 pretty disappointing December 28, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Binyamin Cohen, the son of a rabbi, decides to spend most of a year visiting various Christian sects. On the way, he pokes fun at almost everything, especially his own religion. Although I'm sure Cohen thinks his writings as witty and interesting, I found the book to be overly critical of religion in general and Judaism in particular. Even though Cohen was raised as an observent Jew, it is obvious to me that he is heavy on ritual and very light on understanding. In other words, Cohen seems to have a very poor knowledge on the reasoning behind any of the rituals. Therefore, his own religion seems more like a boring challenge as opposed to living a full life that God wants. It is truly embarassing that he needs to visit places like Christian wrestling and Black Hebrews in order to get more of a sense of Judaism. In an effort to be funny, he constantly criticizes Jewish rituals with phrases like "uninspiring", "boring" and even "ridiculous". I personally found this to be insulting. I actually feel sorry for the author that he has such a poor and misleading view of Judaism.
In the end, he claims that this experience has brought him closer to his own religion. I hope so.
 A charming spiritual journey in which an Orthodox Jew discovers that "Hanging out with Jesus has made me a better Jew." December 26, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
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.
Open, honest and moving December 16, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
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.
Comments about "My Jesus Year" November 18, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
I was raised in a naeive Christian environment and knew very little about Judaism. I relate to Cohen's feelings and shock at new discoveries. This is a good read---especially for people who are interested in discovering "the other side" which may turn out to be the same side.
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