My Pashtun Rabbi: A Jew's Search for Truth, Meaning, and Hope in the Muslim World by David Eden is a memoir of David’s experiences in the UAE as a Jewish man. My Pashtun Rabbi tells the story of David, a journalist, in his own words when he decides to experience a different life on a different continent in the midst of his divorce in America. His son is already in college and David is ready to try something drastically different and so he accepts a job teaching in the UAE. He thus narrates his experiences of the country and its culture, how religion and Islam play a central role in everything, his own identity as a Jewish person which he avoids disclosing if he can help it, his close friendship with one of the most affluent and powerful families through one of his students, and most of all, his deep friendship and almost spiritual relationship with Noor, a Pashtun from Waziristan, the tribal area around Pakistan and Afghanistan, who is his taxi driver and one of his closest friends.

My Pashtun Rabbi is a very engaging book, as one would expect, since it is written by a professional. More than that though, for me it is the subject matter and content that make it interesting and fascinating. It provides a closer look into a modern UAE, with its supreme oil wealth and affluence in the cities, alongside the tribal traditions and the poverty of the expat population from less developed nations who come here to earn a better living, among other things. I found the up-close look at the lifestyle full of camel racing and expensive cars, etc. to be all I had heard about. It was also very interesting and almost educational to hear of David’s perspective from the point of view of his religious identity of being Jewish in an Arab land. The one thing I do wonder about is, if David’s perspective was naturally—and understandably— limited with respect to female life in the Arab/Islamic countries. Although Fatima’s family seems exceptionally open-minded and progressive, the fact is there is systematic oppression of women in Arab countries of which there is little or no mention in the book. But that cannot be held against David since he naturally would not have free access to the women’s world and their true, inside stories and it is something only a woman would be able to do. Leaving aside this fact, the book is still thoroughly interesting and I liked learning more about the UAE in general and Yemen through this book.

My Pashtun Rabbi: A Jew's Search for Truth, Meaning, and Hope in the Muslim World by David Eden is the author's memoir of life in the United Arab Emirates, teaching journalism in the women's sector at a university in Abu Dhabi. Eden describes the decision making process and the initial confusion. "More pressing to me was the question of whether I had a future. It involved an unsigned contract and a promise of physical comfort, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into this time." As Eden dives head first into what could certainly be very shallow water, he is immersed in a world so foreign that the obstacles are both terrifying and comical. The hurdles relate to virtually everything, but as Eden finds his way (home, initially, as he's on the brink of abandoning the post), he meets an unlikely friend to help navigate the maze, finding more than just a lucrative job and something to fill his time in the vast desert... Eden, an American Jew in the Middle East, finds himself.

My Pashtun Rabbi is a fantastically engrossing autobiography that digs far deeper than any I've read before. David Eden's writing style is reflective of his journalistic acumen; a delicious balance of credible and authentic first-hand experiences with the personal insight only a man who has wandered the desert could provide (a man who isn't Moses, of course). There is something of a slow awakening in this book that I found intriguing. Wrapped up among observation, humor, and a descriptive narrative, Eden peels back the layers with unexpected restraint and emerges with a restored sense of purpose and self. It's inspiring and eye opening, with all the right components to keep a reader furiously turning the pages, and ending on a note that kept me thinking long after I set the book down.

My Pashtun Rabbi: A Jew's Search for Truth, Meaning, and Hope in the Muslim World by David Eden is a memoir of David’s experiences as a Jewish Clevelander in the United Arab Emirates. On the brink of the Great Recession, David accepts an opportunity to be the "journalism expert" and teach at United Arab Emirates University. Over 7000 miles away from home, fate quickly finds David in the form of a unique friendship with Noor, a Pashtun taxi driver from Waziristan (the tribal area around Pakistan and Afghanistan) and David is forever changed. David beautiful devotes his memoir to his adventures educating his students and learning from Noor as well as the Falahis, a prominent and wealthy family in the UAE.

A sincere and authentically funny tribute, My Pashtun Rabbi is one of those books that feed your soul. Whether you are a Jewish American, an American Jew, or an American and a Jew, you realize My Pashtun Rabbi is the book you have been desperately needing to read. It is the book that you have been searching for that sneaks deep into your subconscious so much that you'll find yourself telling David Eden's story as if it were your own. David's challenging relationship towards his Jewish identity, country, and Israel not only feels familiar but necessary.