Rockville Centre calendar for week of May 5 - May 11, 2011

Tracing the journey of a Rockville Centre resident

Longtime Rockville Centre resident Dr. Herbert Ausubel, who has had a distinguished career in medicine as a practicing physician, researcher, writer and lecturer, is the author of “Flower of God” — the first of six planned books tracing and documenting the family lines of his children’s ancestors. Two of the books go back 3,000 years to Biblical times.

Ausubel comes from a family of writers and scientists and, as a child, lived in a three-generational household that he said connected the Old World with life in America. He trained as a historian before attending Harvard Medical School. But despite a busy medical career, Ausubel said he always had a second need: to tell the story of the Jewish people. To achieve that goal, he has spent the past 32 years meticulously researching material for his books.

“Flower of God” recounts his paternal family’s journey from the time of the Temple of Solomon to the present: their migration from ancient Israel to Babylon, to Persia, to Anatolia, to Europe and finally to the U.S.

This saga of his family history is a captivating story of the Jewish experience, at once universal and unique. It is everyman’s tale, and the family’s struggles are immediately recognized by anyone who knows something of the immigrant’s journey, whatever the ethnicity. It is easy to empathize with the characters because Ausubel captures their humanity, and their difficult search for a hard-won life of dignity, purpose and acceptance.

This book is a testament to the courage and indomitable spirit of the Jewish people. William Faulkner’s marvelous Nobel Prize acceptance speech provides the perfect summary of their struggle: “We will not merely endure, we will prevail.” “Not since Alex Haley’s ‘Roots,’” wrote a reviewer in Northeast Magazine/Hartford Courant, “have we seen such a rich tale of generations.”

Ausubel has lived on Long Island for more than four decades with his wife, Stephanie Gusikoff Ausubel. The couple has three grown children who are all graduates of South Side High School.

Another clue for residents