A Lifetime of Genesis: An Exploration of and Personal Journey Through the Covenant of Abraham in Genesis - Paperback

by Henry A. Zoob (Author)

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.

Author Biography

Rabbi Henry A. Zoob is the Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Beth David in Westwood, Massachusetts. He holds a BA from Harvard and was ordained in 1967 at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He earned a MA in Bible from Brandeis in 1987. He is the Founding Chair of the Rashi School, the Boston Area Reform Jewish Independent School and served on the founding boards of the Gann Academy (a pluralistic Jewish high school in Waltham, MA) and Mayyim Hayyim, Living Waters Community Mikveh.