by Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1995
Literary and literate biblical exegesis from Jerusalem- based teacher and lecturer Zornberg. Based on ten years' worth of Zornberg's classes on the Pentateuch, these 12 loosely constructed essays correspond to the 12 traditional Jewish weekly portions found in the book of Genesis. Each one is based on some part of the text that Zornberg finds intriguing—often an implicit tension in a story—and she moves easily from idea to idea and in and out of the biblical narrative. In ``Bereshit: The Pivoting Point,'' Zornberg takes off from the mystery behind the strange Hebrew syntax of the first line of the Bible, which reads (in the Jewish Publication Society translation that she uses): ``In the beginning of God's creation of heaven and earth...'' She uses the line as a jumping off point for a discussion of what she calls ``the problem of man,'' or humanity's ambiguous situation between God and the natural world. According to Zornberg, man (she uses the masculine pronoun in the universal sense) is given mixed messages during the creation story. In a single verse, God tells him to ``be fertile and increase,'' using words that connote lowly, even insectlike activities, and also to ``master'' the earth, or rise above it, a predicament she also finds in Hamlet's rhetorical question: ``What should such fellows as I do, crawling between earth and heaven?'' Zornberg elaborates, invoking Elias Canetti, Franz Kafka, and traditional Jewish sources with equal facility, demonstrating that the landscape of her mind, as she calls it, is vast and varied. Zornberg's Orthodox reading of the biblical text constrains her interpretation but doesn't detract from it. If anything, her reverence towards her subject prevents Zornberg from taking easy escapes from awkward situations—such as claiming multiple authorship of the Bible. Zornberg's writing is challenging but perfectly accessible to the careful lay reader. A wonderfully erudite debut.
Pub Date: March 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-8276-0521-8
Page Count: 458
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1995
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by Timothy Paul Jones ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2005
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Albert Camus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 26, 1955
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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