Benjamin Fein's Journey: From Russian Atheist to Faithful Scholar

For 46 years, Professor Fein served Mother Russia, exalting communist diligence through research that brought glory to the Russian nation. Stalin was pleased, Khrushchev as well, but in the end, it was Professor Fein himself who was unsatisfied.

Benjamin Fein was born in 1930. Named after his grandfather Benjamin, who was killed in the Petliura pogroms of 1919, he knew little about his Judaism or its significance in a Russia gripped by the madness of the Bolshevik October Revolution. His father was a mathematician, his mother a doctor, and Benjamin was a talented and energetic young man who rose through the ranks of physics at Gorky University. In 1956, he completed his doctorate with honors under Professor Ginzburg, who later won the Nobel Prize. By 1965, Benjamin was a full professor at Gorky University and head of the Department of Quantum Radiophysics, pioneering in his field. He authored numerous books and articles that garnered fame and renown. In 1966, he was promoted and transferred to Moscow at the Institute of Physics in Chernogolovka.

What more could a productive Russian citizen want? He dutifully served his homeland, leading the intellectual charge, and everyone was content.

But in 1972, at age 42, Benjamin started questioning life's meaning, much like Abraham in his time, amidst the desolate landscape of cold Russian atheism and enforced Marxism. He knew he was Jewish and didn't understand why he couldn't visit his homeland, Israel. What harm did this pose to Russia's ideals? Upon wondering, he acted: he applied for immigration to Israel!

In Russia, such a request was considered sacrilegious, heretical, a crime punishable by exile to Siberia. The authorities were shocked by his audacity, and as his journey of self-discovery progressed, so did the interrogations, persecutions, and harassments. He lost his job and embarked on a public battle for immigration rights, finally achieving permission in 1977. He arrived in Israel as a religious man, firm in his faith, after more than forty years of atheistic service. He had found the truth.

Benjamin was appointed as a professor at Tel Aviv University, where he taught quantum electronics, laser physics, and continuous environments.

Yet, he didn't forget the Jews of Russia and all those trapped by atheism. Benjamin Fein, a talented writer and prolific author, now dedicated his energy to promoting a balanced view of science and research.

Among his books are four important works that serve as excellent learning material for anyone grappling with the question of religion and science: "Creating from Nothing," sharing his path to discovering truth; "Law and Providence," illustrating how providence doesn't contradict but is affirmed by scientific philosophy; "The Poverty of Disbelief," demonstrating the logical deficiencies of atheism; and "The Secret of the Soul: Body and Soul in the Light of Torah and Science," discussing consciousness and the soul alongside scientific findings.

In 2017, with rabbis and public figures, including Science Minister Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz, he launched his third book, "The Poverty of Disbelief," tackling the secular worldview, which claims to be founded on scientific achievements. "I see it as my duty," says Fein, "to justify in my books the absolute implausibility of the secular view seeking justification through scientific achievements."

At the time, the press wrote: "Fein chose the title 'The Poverty of Disbelief' echoing the titles of two atheist thinkers (both of Jewish descent): Karl Marx's 'The Poverty of Philosophy' and Karl Popper's 'The Poverty of Historicism.' Fein, born in Kyiv in 1930, educated in his homeland on purposeless materialism, believed the world was matter alone, developing by physical laws alone. He resisted this view as a child, realizing that there was a Creator and guide of the world, deserving of prayer. His assimilated parents – his father a gifted mathematician and his mother a doctor – were astonished to find their only son engaged in prayer, and tried to uproot his innocent faith.

In 'The Poverty of Disbelief,' he addresses the prevailing scientific notion that the entire world is evolving matter. Fein aims to prove that science will never answer all questions troubling even the materialist view, although it insists that science’s 'gaps' will be filled in the future. He argues that science will never answer all questions or fill all 'gaps,' ultimately leading the bold scientist to recognize a Creator, as Einstein suggested when he claimed that the more science advances, the more evident it becomes that there is a Creator."

Fein passed away on Yom Ha'atzmaut, 2013, leaving behind a profound contribution to the life of faith. May his memory be a blessing.