A Lifetime Of Genesis [Hardcover]

For many readers of the Bible, there are two major obstacles to the enjoyment of scripture: comprehension and relevancy. In A Lifetime of Genesis, Rabbi Zoob seeks to help the reader overcome these obstacles. In clear, logical prose, Rabbi Zoob explains the course of the Covenant of Abraham in Genesis and how each major player--Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Leah--has an impact on the development and continuity of the Covenant of Abraham. He solves the relevancy problem by sharing stories from his life that are connected to the patriarchal and matriarchal events and themes in each previous chapter. For example, following an analysis of the challenge of infertility that Abraham and Sarah faced, he tells the story of how he and his wife Barbara struggled through thirteen years of childlessness. And after the chapter on how Jacob wrestled with the angel and the many challenges in his life, Rabbi Zoob recalls his sibling struggles with his brother and his wrestling with seasonal depression. Rabbi Zoob hopes that his use of this midrashic process to discover personal insights will encourage the reader to do the same. Zoob's work is in part an enlightening analysis of the Covenant of Israel as it develops in the Book of Genesis. Yet, its power lies in his immersion into the narratives of Genesis which impel him to remember and relive his own life journey even as it demands our own self-reflection. His book is chock full of insights spawned by the Biblical characters which will challenge every modern reader. --Norman J. Cohen, Provost and Professor Emeritus of Midrash, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion A Lifetime of Genesisis the fruit of a lifetime of rabbinic learning. It is heartfelt, learned, inspiring and, above all, wise. While many clergy have writtenautobiographies, to my knowledge, none have indexed their lives through a book of the Bible. Zoob effortlessly shuttles between serious biblical scholarship and candid--l“(