In a theological dialogue that cuts to the heart of post-Holocaust Jewish thought, Arthur Green challenges Richard Rubenstein's radical vision of Jewish existence and apocalyptic transformation. Through personal reflection and theological analysis, Green examines three critical tensions: humanity's relationship with impending catastrophe, the controversial legacy of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai's pragmatic survival strategy, and the deeper meanings embedded in Torah as the Tree of Life. Drawing upon comparative religious analysis, Hasidic sources, and historical precedents, Green confronts Rubenstein's "negation of the galut" while defending ben Zakkai's path of preservation over Masada's paradigm of martyrdom. The analysis identifies Gnosticism as a core spiritual pathology in Western religious thought, viewing it as a metaphysical exile that severs human connection to earthly existence. Green warns that abandoning traditional religious structures, particularly regarding the Tree of Life symbolism, risks unleashing chaos rather than achieving genuine liberation. His response charts a middle path that maintains religious order while acknowledging existential absurdity—offering contemporary Jewish theologians a framework for navigating between ancestral wisdom and modern challenges without resorting to theological revolution.