Destined to Choose: A Rabbi David Cohen Novel

By Sheyna Galyan

When a college freshmans philosophy paper on the Holocaust jeopardizes her relationship with her grandfather, she finds herself alone and afraid on the streets of Minneapolis. Help comes in the form... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 159287018X
• ISBN13: 9781592870189
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Yaldah Publishing
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.8" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

A beautifully written, well told story....

I just finished "Destined to Choose"...brilliantly written. I'm actually going to reread it right away to see what clues I may have 'missed'. Author Sheyna Galyan has done an amazing job of integrating everyday Jewish life and customs with a great meaty story. The depth of this novel is exceptional; the education in Jewish life and customs, mixed with fabulous, multi-layered character developement, make this an important novel for readers of all faiths. I enjoyed getting to know each character, and, by the time I was finished with the book, I found that I missed them, as old friends. As the grand-niece of a Holocaust survivor, I also appreciated the different perspectives on the subject of Shoah from each of the characters, as well. Though I'm not a practicing Jew, I felt that I learned a great deal about my heritage, while still affirming the life I've chosen for myself today. In actuality, this novel helped to feel 'destined to choose' my own life path. I can't wait for the next book!

a good first novel

This readable novel describes a few weeks in the life of a tradition-minded Conservative rabbi; I think it gives the reader a good sense of an observant Conservative lifestyle (though I would like to think that no synagogue board would be as nasty and anti-religious as the lay leadership in this novel). In addition, Galyan takes the time to get into some fairly deep intellectual issues as well, focusing on free will (thus the title). There were a couple of times where I thought to myself: "I can't imagine why this character would say X when Y would have made more sense" - but despite occasional flaws, this novel mostly made sense.

Chosen - for our Book Club - and we loved it!

I've read this book twice now. The first time I read it on my own, and more recently I read it for a book club discussion. Accessible to people from different backgrounds, relevant for both Jewish and non-Jewish readers, as others have written - this book is indeed insightful and deceptively easy to read. It is also fun. Our readers recognized each other in the pages, and I personally enjoyed (during my second reading) the specific relevance built in (whether intentionally or not!) to chapter 18. I look forward to more books from this author and highly recommend this book!

A refreshing and enjoyable read for Jews, Christians, and others

Finally, an answer to the tired rabbi-detective mysteries! I suspect those rabbi mysteries are mysteries and not dramas so they can avoid being shelved with the religious fiction books, and this book deserves better than that, too. It's a candidate for the "best book you're not reading" award. We get to spend roughly half the book inside the head of a rabbi, getting to know him as a man and not just a rabbi. His fears and weaknesses make him more human, and I would bet that anyone who reads this will never again look at their clergy quite the same way. The mysteries solved here are what are rabbis like? And what is it like to be a religious but not orthodox Jew in America today? I'll take Chaim Potok any day to understand the orthodox life, but little tells me about the majority of American Jews. This book does. The other half of the book is spent in the head of a female college freshman and the grief that sometimes takes over her life. The characterizations of men and women, religious and not-religious, Jewish and Christian are believable and credible, and the religious, psychological and philosophical references give this book more depth than most fluff out there. I'm not Jewish but I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and the glossary of Hebrew words in the back added an educational layer, though most of the Hebrew was understandable in context. I recommend this to religious Christians to enrich their own faith, to the non-religious and the curious to gain a better understanding of Judaism, and to Jews because I think a lot of Jews will see themselves on these pages.

Very interesting book

The author of this book did a really nice job of incorporating a variety of spiritual questions and perspectives ranging from reform to orthodox. This incorporation, in conjunction with an interesting human tale, kept me committed to the story. I also enjoyed learning more about a rabbi's experience and the joys/struggles of the job.