From one of the most innovative and acclaimed biblical commentators at work today, here is a revolutionary analysis of the intersection between religion and psychoanalysis in the stories of the men and women of the Bible. For centuries scholars and rabbis have wrestled with the biblical narrative, attempting to answer the questions that arise from a plain reading of the text. In The Murmuring Deep, Avivah Zornberg informs her literary analysis of the text with concepts drawn from Freud, Winnicott, Laplanche, and other psychoanalytic thinkers to give us a new understanding of the desires and motivations of the men and women whose stories form the basis of the Bible. Through close readings of the biblical and midrashic texts, Zornberg makes a powerful argument for the idea that the creators of the midrashic commentary, the medieval rabbinic commentators, and the Hassidic commentators were themselves on some level aware of the complex interplay between conscious and unconscious levels of experience and used this knowledge in their interpretations. In her analysis of the stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, Jonah, Abraham, Rebecca, Isaac, Joseph and his brothers, Ruth, and Esther-how they communicated with the world around them, with God, and with the various parts of their selves-Zornberg offers fascinating insights into the interaction between consciousness and unconsciousness. In discussing why God has to "seduce" Adam into entering the Garden of Eden or why Jonah thinks he can hide from God by getting on a ship, Zornberg enhances our appreciation of the Bible as the foundational text in our quest to understand what it means to be human.
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Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
Thought Provoking:
Anyone who has sat in on Dr. Avivah Zorenberg's classes will appreciate and enjoy this latest book. Organized by themes of communication both internal and external, Dr. Zorenberg combines classic literature, Midrashic interpretation and psychology to create a complete and complex picture of the heritage created by the forefathers, and places it in a thoroughly modern and engaging context.
Psychology, Literature and Judaism:
Zornberg, Avivah Gottlieb. "The Murmuring Deep: Reflections on the Biblical Unconscious", Schocken, 2009. Psychology, Literature and Judaism Amos Lassen Avivah Gottleib Zornberg is a Biblical scholar who uses psychological insights to several characters in The Five Books of Moses in some of the same ways that Freud did in his classical study, "Moses and Monotheism". This is quite a comparison when we think how Freud's study has stood the test of time. Among the characters that Zornberg... more info
Amazing:
Zornberg has moved to a new level: These concise essays overflow with profound psychological and religious insight, interpretative virtuosity and human depth
A classic and must read:
THE MURMURING DEEP The great works of Life and Literature are those which are read and reread generation by generation. On occasion the dialogue between the generations takes a dramatic turn and a new way and world are opened up. This is what happens for many readers when they are given the interpretative investigations of Biblical Literature by Avivah Zornberg. In her readings of the texts there are whole new worlds of suggestion and surprise which yoke together what might at first seem the most... more info
