In “Called to Controversy” Ruth Rosen tells the story Moishe Rosen, the founder of Jews for Jesus. He also happens to be her father. His mission work to reach fellow Jews with the Gospel of Jesus Christ got him a lot of attention, and not all of it was flattering. Many in the Jewish community labeled him a heretic. Some denied he was even really Jewish, but Moishe pressed on with his mission. He brought Jewish outreach into the spotlight and helped train many others in taking evangelism to the Jews.
One would think that a biography coming from Moishe’s daughter to be a bit biased, but this biography presents both his strengths and his flaws. It discusses his successes and failures, as well as regrets. Ruth says, “Moishe knew it was important that his biography be quite clear that he was flawed. He wanted the world to know that God does not need people to attain a level of perfection to be used for his purposes.” What really sticks out, showing where Moishe’s heart truly was, is the fact that this biography covers his entire life, but his mission work is present for most of the book. Moishe Rosen’s life goal was to see the Jewish people, his people, come to Christ.
Each chapter starts with a quote from Moishe. I found several things to highlight in this book that I wanted to go back and think on, but I think the last lines of Ruth’s words are most poignant: “We can spend our brief lives any way we choose, but we can spend them only once. It’s important to recognize value, in ourselves, in others, and in whatever work God calls us to do. That’s something I learned from my father.”
1) Is it understandable? = 5
2) Presentation of Information = 5
3) Quality of Writing = 4.5
4) Overall Enjoyability = 4.5
Average of score 4.75
Overall grade = A
You can find out more about the Jews for Jesus organization on the official website.
Where to buy the book: CBD | Amazon | B&N
I received a complimentary digital copy of this book for review purposes from BookSneeze.
Jess Boudreaux 