Reading Genesis: Beginnings

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Deuteronomy 32:47 says the Pentateuch should not be 'an empty matter.' This new anthology from Beth Kissileff fills Genesis with meaning, gathering intellectuals and thinkers who use their professional knowledge to illuminate the Biblical text. These writers use insights from psychology, law, political science, literature, and other scholarly fields, to create an original constellation of modern Biblical readings, and receptions of Genesis: A scientist of appetite on Eve's eating behavior; law professors on contracts in Genesis, and on collective punishment; an anthropologist on the nature of human strife in the Cain and Abel story; political scientists on the nature of Biblical games, Abraham's resistance, and collective action. The highly distinguished contributors include Alan Dershowitz and Ruth Westheimer, the novelists Rebecca Newberger Goldstein and Dara Horn, critics Ilan Stavans and Sander Gilman, historian Russell Jacoby, poets Alicia Suskin Ostriker and Jacqueline Osherow, and food writer Joan Nathan.

Reviews

One can only wish that many people read this interesting and entertaining book to test their preconceptions and broaden their general knowledge of Genesis and its rich and thriving reception history. * Reading Religion *
A dazzling array of eminent names and wildly differing perspectives [A] book which will be enjoyed by all who care about reading, preaching and living Genesis. * Regent's Reviews *
An intriguing anthology One that breathes the sense of Genesis being a text that matters and that speaks to the human condition at a fundamental level. * Journal for the Study of the Old Testament *
Reading Genesis: Beginnings offers a gateway into a treasure trove of stories and characters that have influenced Western culture through religion, art and literature. With modern tools of analysis, these stories can still guide our exploration of human nature. While ancient, the biblical text offers insight not only to our relationship with God but also to each other in Gods divine plan. -- Rebecca I. Denova * Pittsburgh Post-Gazette *
A marvelous collection of insights, provocations and apercus on the founding book of the human family. * Rabbi David Wolpe, Sinai Temple, LA, USA *
If you think you already understand the Book of Genesis, think again. Reading Genesis offers wondrous new approaches to this ancient text penned by some of the world's most interesting minds. Sure to be a classic. * Jonathan D. Sarna, Brandeis University, USA *
This is a stimulating collection of essays on the Bible, bringing diverse fields of expertise to bear on the text. The results are often intriguing and eloquent, yielding fresh insights. * Avivah Zornberg *
With a host of contributors, diverse in their approaches and perspectives, Kissileff has put together a thought-provoking, stimulating collection that ranges far from a standard explication of the biblical text. * Chicago Jewish Star *
Beth Kissileffs new anthology, Reading Genesis, brings together a stellar collection of essays by a diverse group of almost two-dozen experts, each bringing the tools and methodology of his or her field to bear on a particular aspect of the seminal biblical book. By bringing together such a wealth of brilliant interpreters, Kissileffs book justifies the maxim that you can turn and turn (learn again and again) the Torah endlessly so that facets of the text will glimmer and sparkle anew. * Hadassah Magazine *
one cannot but be impressed by Beth Kissileffs broad and multifaceted collection of essays on Genesis. It includes contributions by some of the best-known Jewish thinkers, scholars, writers, and public figuresthe crafters of 21st-century American Jewish culture. The diversity of topics, from game theory to neurobiology, from culinary traditions to human sexuality, presents contemporary evidence that the Bible speaks to all human knowledge. * The Christian Century *

Author Bio

Beth Kissileff has received fellowships from the Corporation of Yaddo and the National Endowment for the Humanities and has taught at Carleton College, the University of Minnesota USA, Smith College USA, and Mount Holyoke College USA.