Benyamin Cohen was a nice Jewish boy. Too Jewish for his own good.
Cohen, the son of a rabbi, was raised an Orthodox Jew. He observed the Sabbath, kept kosher and married a nice Jewish girl — the converted daughter of a Methodist minister, actually.
But unlike his wife, who passionately embraced her new religion, Cohen was jaded. He wanted a chance to choose Judaism for himself, the way she had. So beginning in the summer of 2006, he spent a year experiencing Christianity. He still attended synagogue on Saturdays and followed the Talmud, but on Sundays, the Atlanta resident sampled churches. He also took in a Christian rock concert, booksellers convention, wrestling match and Faith Day at Turner Field.
At the end of the year Cohen, a Web editor, returned to Judaism with newfound fervor. And he wrote a book about the whole thing, natch. Monday, as part of Jewish Book Month, he'll be in Tampa to discuss My Jesus Year: A Rabbi's Son Wanders the Bible Belt in Search of His Own Faith.
Cohen gave tbt* a preview.
May I ask how old you are?
I am 33, the same age as Jesus when he died. (laughs)
Let's talk about your attitude going into this experience. Were you open to believing in Jesus, or was everything from a sociological standpoint?
Judaism, specifically orthodox Judaism, is too ingrained in my DNA to ever leave that. ... I never thought that I would actually leave it. It was much more of an anthropological journey.
Which church sermon was the hardest for you to sit through?
When I went to this evangelical church, the minister was doing a sermon about God speaking to Moses in the burning bush. We were taught very specific things about that story. ... Here was this master who was contradicting everything I had learned about that specific story and transforming it into the message he was trying to get across. For me it just felt like here he was taking my Old Testament and doing stuff with it. I was like, I'm not touching your testament; stay away from my testament. I actually walked out in the middle of the sermon.
What's more expensive, being a Jew or being a Christian?
Being a Jew is more expensive because you're forced to buy a lot of things. In Christianity, you can choose to buy all the knickknacks and paraphernalia, the T-shirts and bobbleheads and all that stuff. In Judaism, you don't have a choice. For Orthodox Jews who keep kosher, kosher food is oftentimes twice as expensive as regular food. For Orthodox Jews who don't drive on the Sabbath, you have to buy a house within walking distance of the synagogue. The real estate market has figured that out and charges very high prices for houses near Orthodox synagogues.
You write a lot about the lessons that synagogues can take from churches as far as hospitality and different styles of music. What can churches adopt from synagogues?
Every night there are classes and events going on at my synagogue. Bible study — every day. In churches, it's often just Wednesday night or something.
What tangible traces remain from your Jesus year?
I do still listen to Christian radio in my car. ... Last week we voted in one of the churches that I had gone to. It was kind of odd being there, 'cause I live in a very Jewish neighborhood, so all these Jews were in church. We were all in line to vote. ... They're like, "Where's the bathroom?" And I'm like, "I know where it is. I've been here before. The bathroom's around the corner."
Jewish Book Month
The celebration, hosted by Tampa Jewish Community Center and Federation, runs Nov. 13-23 at venues across Tampa Bay. Get the full schedule at jewishtampa.com or call (813) 264-9000. Benyamin Cohen will discuss My Jesus Year Monday at 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Beth Am, 2030 W Fletcher Ave., Tampa. Free.
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