March 15, 2025

Linking Northern and Central NJ, Bronx, Manhattan, Westchester and CT

Ben Rothke

Ben Rothke lives in New Jersey and works in the information security field. He reviews books on religion, technology and science. @benrothke

Articles by Ben Rothke

The Commencement of Change

Reviewing: “The Making of Modern Jewish Identity: Ideological Change and Religious Conversion,” by Motti Inbari. Routledge Press. Routledge Jewish Studies Series. English. Hardcover. 182 pages.

Book Review Briefs

There are a number of books I have been meaning to review for a while, but they seem to get put at the bottom of

Illuminating Rav Kook on Agadata

Reviewing: “The Legends of Rabbah Bar Bar Hannah with the Commentary of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook,” by Bezalel Naor. Kodesh Press L.L.C. 2019. English.

Reconciling Torah and Science

Reviewing: “From Infinity to Man: The Fundamental Ideas of Kabbalah Within the Framework of Information Theory and Quantum Physics,” by Eduard Shyfrin. White Raven Publishing.

The Hebrew Bible and the Birth of the US

Reviewing: “Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land: The Hebrew Bible in the United States: A Sourcebook,” by Stuart W. Halpern, Meir Soloveichik, Matthew Holbreich and Jonathan

Exposing Conspiracy Theories

Reviewing: “Escaping the Rabbit Hole: How to Debunk Conspiracy Theories Using Facts, Logic, and Respect,” by Mick West. Skyhorse. 2018. English. Hardcover. 304 pages. ISBN-13:

The Lost Library of Vilna

Reviewing: “The Lost Library: The Legacy of Vilna’s Strashun Library in the Aftermath of the Holocaust” by Dan Rabinowitz. The Tauber Institute Series for the

The Story Behind the Story

Reviewing: “Setting the Table: An Introduction to the Jurisprudence of Rabbi Yechiel Mikhel Epstein’s Arukh HaShulhan,” by Michael J. Broyde and Shlomo C. Pill. Academic

The Contributions of Jews in Medicine

Reviewing “Jews in Medicine: Contributions to Health and Healing Through the Ages,” by Ronald L. Eisenberg, MD. Urim Publications. 2019. Hardcover. 464 pages. English. ISBN-13: