Elisha Ben Abuyah Research Paper

Elisha Ben Abuyah’s doubting of the Jewish faith affects him in ways that not only leave an impact on his personal affairs but those who have helped and cared for Elisha. Elisha’s internal rebellion eventually leads him to a point where he does not know whether the choices he has committed were for his own good. Elisha questions his heuristic approach to choosing reason over faith. It is impossible for Elisha to have Roman reason and Jewish faith balance each other, yet that is the very reason his goal is irrational and unachievable. Elisha’s pursuit of a greater belief system results in him losing almost everything he holds dear to him.
Firstly, Rabbi Akiva argues with Elisha and explains to him how giving up the war and its efforts for the

At the very base of his research, Euclidean Geometry, Elisha believed Euclid required proof of his postulates and when Elisha is proved wrong, that his questioning is unnecessary, the entirety of his life’s mission becomes irrelevant. Also, his struggle between Roman reason and Jewish faith detaches himself from the Jewish values he once had confidence in and could rely on. When faced with the dilemma of giving information to the Romans Elisha’s logic outweighs his faith which allows him to continue to fulfill what is asked of him. Elisha is heart-broken that he does not is considered an outsider amongst the Jewish people after his brutal betrayal of his own kind. Towards the end, of part two, Elisha is having a conversation with Charicles about Euclid’s Elements of Geometry and Charicles points out, “if man has not found truth in geometry, then he is incapable of discovering it anywhere” (Steinberg 467). It came to Elisha’s attention at that moment all of his life’s work is utterly useless to him. His quest for knowledge ruins the bonds between closest relationships and leads to the deaths of those Elisha cares