The Particulars of Rapture: Reflections on Exodus

Some books seem too ponderous to read. They have so many pages that the book presses against one's stomach uncomfortably when one tries to read it while lying on the living room sofa. A reader may even be put off by a somewhat difficult sentence in the very first paragraph of the 582 pages, when the author offers a definition of "midrash": "My working definition - with all due caveats, acknowledging the essentially undefined nature of the term - would be this (etc)." What is a "working definition"? What are "all due caveats"? What does she mean by "acknowledging the essentially undefined nature of the term"? Does she mean to say: I will use the term "midrash" when I mean (etc.)? Why doesn't she say this? This was the problem I had with Aviva Gottlieb Zornberg's book some years ago. I put it aside after reading fifty or so pages. I began reading it again when I started to study the biblical book of Exodus again. Granted, I had to accustom myself to her writing style. But I soon found that she was offering her readers a fresh look at the biblical book. For example, she discusses the idea that the Bible repeatedly introduces "jarring" voices - which she also calls "dissonances" and "counter-narratives" - and she shows how these unexpected elements enhance interest in the story and add depth to what is being presented. Moses goes to the Israelites and to Pharaoh with God's message and both reject the divine command. Why does the Torah mention this dissonance? Why is it necessary for Moses to repeat and repeat God's message and emphasize it with ten miraculous plagues. What does this reluctance to accept the divine message say about God's power? Is he weak? The dissonance strikes us, prompts us to ask questions and draws us into the depths of the story. Another example. The Torah mentions frequently that the people "saw" or that they "were shown" something. Zornberg argues persuasively that these words are deceptive. They are a code revealing that the people did not really see or that they were apparently shown something, but it was only apparently so. Reading this, I was reminded that whenever I hear the phrase "everybody knows," I know that I am usually about to hear something that is simply untrue. The Passover Haggadah relates that four sons ask four different questions about the exodus from Egypt. Zornberg sees the issue in a totally different, indeed provocative manner. There are four altogether different versions of the Egyptian experience and each version acts upon and enhances the other. "The difference between the four versions," she writes, "is remarkable." The four versions are in Exodus 12:26-27, 13:8, 13:14 and Deuteronomy 6:20-21. It is like hearing a full orchestra playing different but harmonious melodies rather than a single piano on four separate occasions. One can listen to each version by itself and then listen to them together as a concert. This reminds me of chapter 37 of Genesis. Most people read the story of Jacob's

Zornberg, Avivah Gottlieb. "The Particulars of Rapture: Reflections on Exodus", Image, 2002. How Could I Have Missed This? Amos Lassen I am a huge Zornberg fan but somehow I realized that I had never reviewed her second book, "The Particulars of Rapture" which I read almost daily when I was plodding through the Book of Exodus. Zornberg is such a profoundly creative Bible scholar that I must admit I sit in great awe of her and do not understand how it is that I never enrolled in one of her courses. She tells the stories that fill in the holes in the scriptures. In her look at Exodus, she gives us many of the stories that she has told and she tells us how these stories came into being. With Zornberg, the Bible does not stand alone. It has commentaries and intertextuality that shows that it is impossible to understand it as an isolated text. Zornberg sees the interpretations as part of the text itself and not just ideas that have been derived from the text. This is a literary look at Exodus and the author looks at the topic of women who are conspicuously absent after playing such important roles in Genesis. She looks at the themes of redemption and the exodus. She uses literature, philosophy, psychology, Talmud, the rabbis to arrive at her conclusions. She writes beautifully and offers effective arguments with her interpretations which are both from the Midrash and from a psychoanalytic point of view. She challenges the reader and we get a better understanding of Exodus. Zornberg looks closely at the interdependence of opposites--male and female, conscious and unconscious and adds the classical Jewish interpretations and Midrashic views. Zornberg does not just tell us ideas, she reveals them to us in such a way that everything makes a great deal of sense. She finds hidden meanings and narratives and we get alternative understandings.

Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg is one of the most well-known and innovative Torah teachers of this generation. The present volume consists in her weekly commentaries (Parshat HaShavuah )on the second book of the Five Books of Moses, `Exodus.' Her aim is not to expound upon the surface (pshat) meaning of the text, but rather to provide a midrashic commentary. In this she looks for hidden narratives and meanings for alternative understandings as a way of deepening our understanding of the text. Here she brings to bear her own reading in secular sources, particularly in literature, psychology, sociology and anthropology. But she relies primarily on her intimate knowledge of the traditional Rabbinic commentaries. She does not work to build some overall theory or superstructure but rather intuitively and poetically to extend the meaning of the text. For those who are knowledgeable in Torah this book will provide a real enrichment and delight in understanding. For those less knowledgeable this book will hopefully lead to a fuller engagement with the Biblical text.

With her trademark mix of existential, literary and biblical knowledge, Aviva Zornberg is an educator of the first order. Even those who have trouble with Biblical tales--or especially those that do--will have so many allusions and educated metaphors to work with that any literate woman or man can't help but learn essential truths about life and history from this great teacher. As a writer, my only critique is that she tends to be too homogenous in her method, a very small critique in the grand scheme of things, which is always Zornberg's subject--the grand scheme of things. Highly recommended.

Ms Zornberg's unique method of teaching -- reflected in her writing -- reveals themes and grand tapestries in a majestic manner. Her strong background not only in Jewish textual material , but also in secular literature and the humanities provides a rich context for her insightful reflections. A classic to be savored by all those seriously interested in the Old Testament.