Gabi is fascinating. I hold paradox in highest esteem and Gabi embodies several-- Jew and Christian, European and American, physicist and priest-- with thoughtfulness and grace. I learned about tolerance reading this book, as it forced me to see the thought of a "betrayer" -- of atheism, of Yiddish secularist... And I came out seeing how he never left anything behind, only added richness and depth to his emotional, spiritual, and philosophical experience of the world by taking on these new identities. Having had the pleasure to meet and conduct a lengthy interview with Gabi, I can attest to his intellectual and philosophical rigor-- and his gorgeous Yiddish to boot!
Gabriel Weinreich is a thoughtful person with an interesting life to share. The non-Jewish reader will learn about the Yiddish-speaking world of European Jews. Through is father Max Weinreich, we learn about YIVO Institute and the conservation and philological revival of Yiddish. As Weinreich digests his life, there is an interesting reflection on Christian, Jewish and Atheist sensibilities, and Weinreich's faith transition in response to congregational music. The book provides a personal window on the history of a generation.
Gabi is a wonderful man who has had a veryinterestuing life. I thoroughly enjoyed his memoir and am especially grateful to him for meeting with our book group to discuss his ideas on physics, philosophy, religion and life! It was one of our best book group meetings ever - and we've been meeting for over 20 years!