The Beginning of Desire

by Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg

Book Overview

NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD WINNER - A brilliant interpretation of familiar biblical narratives that "deserves to be the most widely read book on the Bible in years, perhaps decades." (Jewish... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385483376
• ISBN13: 9780385483377
• Release Date: September 1996
• Publisher: Image
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 1.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.3" x 6.1"

Customer Reviews

A deep and beautiful commentary

Aviva Gottlieb Zornberg is one of the remarkable Torah teachers of her generation. All who have attended her lectures in Jerusalem can attest to her great learning, her poetic and intuitive interpretative skill, her effort to read the Biblical text through combining the traditional sources with insights derived from sociological, anthropological and psychological literature. Her radiant and magnetic personality provide a dimension to her lectures inspirationally which the page does, and sometimes does not capture. But her commentary for any one who will take the time and effort to read it carefully yields new insights into the Biblical texts. And again her readings are ones which almost invariably lead us into deeper understanding of the human relationships involved in Tannach. This commentary should be a part of the library of all those who love the Biblical text.

Potent

This is for me one of the most intelligent and beautiful books on Genesis I have ever read. The depth of the book takes several (hundred?) readings to fully grasp its height and breadth. A must have.Ms. Zornberg's grasp of her subject matter is awesome and inspiring.

literary and traditional theological theory meet

Zornberg's "dialectical" approach to discussing the weekly readings of Genesis marries the secular approaches of literature and philosophy and traditional Jewish "learning" in an exciting and thought-provoking way. She uses rabbinic exegesis smartly and sensitively to explore the layers of the text's meaning in a way that will appeal to rather than repel scholars of modern literature who are also theologically inclined. I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in Hebrew Bible scholarship.

Aviva Zornberg: An Eclectic Biblical Commentary

Aviva Zornberg's , Genesis, The Beginning of Desire, is a deep analysis of the first book of the Bible which utilizes insights from the full gamut of philosophers and authors to illuminate the commentary of Rashi, the most central of the classical medieval Jewish commentaries on the Bible. She is a treasure and her insights are illuminating and occasionally open up an area in ways never before explored. I reccommend it highly for all who are dedicated to seeing the world of the Bible in all its depth and compexity.