NOTE: I was not paid to review this book. It is an unbiased and objective review. If you have a book with Jewish or Israel related content and would like me to write a review, contact me for details of where to send me a review copy of the book.

Book Review: Ari Barak and the Free-Will Paradox, by Shaul Behr

I admit that when I first received the book "Ari Barak and the Free-Will Paradox" for review I was skeptical. The author is promoting the book as the Jewish version of Harry Potter, which is some pretty big shoes to fill. I never believe marketing like that and it just makes me skeptical.


Anyways, I was wrong. I don't think it is too similar to Harry Potter, but I really enjoyed the book. Ari Barak and the Free-Will Paradox was a lot of fun to read.

Ari Barak and the Free-Will Paradox is a Jewish, kosher, novel in the sci-fi/fantasy genre. I must say that I surprised myself by liking it so much and finding it so much fun, considering I am not a fan of this genre.

Ari and Howard find themselves to be students in an unusual, and unique, yeshiva located in RBS, and experience the craziest mind-blowing experiences with, and without the Rosh Yeshiva. Some of it is so fantastical, all of it really but that can be expected for the fantasy portion of it, that you wonder how all this could happen in just the first few days since they arrived and how they could stick with it, considering.

In addition to the fantasy aspects and the wild story, you will be interested in the ongoing discussion of how free will works and its ramifications, so it is not all just fun and games.

Ari Barak and the Free-Will Paradox is a fun read, a "kosher" novel, the author has a wild imagination as far as some of the adventures they find themselves on (I did not write about them so as not to spoil the story) and anybody in the frum community with some background in Torah will be enraptured with the adventures, and not least of all it is set in RBS!