Elisha ben Abuyah

Elisha is frail as a child, but after living with Joshua, becomes a tall, slender, bronze and wiry man. He has intense blue eyes. He is wealthy and well regarded in Palestine and becomes an apprentice to a compassionate and learned Rabbi. Once Elisha becomes a rabbi, he is excellent at his work, yet yearns for something more. He finally turns away from his faith and seeks a truth through studying Greek literature and science. Elisha becomes obsessed with this study, and it encompasses his entire life, at the expense of his friends, his family, his religion and his country. He dies an old ravaged man, beset with regret and disappointment.

In the novel, Elisha undergoes great change and growth but makes choices that cause him to end up alone. The choices seem noble and driven by conscious and intelligence, but the results are disastrous. Elisha...