Self Struggle & Change

Norman J. Cohen

Description

How do I find greater wholeness in my life and in my family’s life?

"To appreciate the importance of the Bible and gain insight about ourselves from it, both Jews and Christians can use the process of midrash: The attempt to find contemporary meaning in the biblical text. The term midrash comes from the Hebrew root darash which means to seek, search, or demand (meaning from the biblical text). The starting point of our search for personal meaning is the Bible itself.… Each generation, each reader, can approach the text anew and draw meaning from it."
—from Self, Struggle & Change

The stress of late-20th-century living only brings new variations to timeless personal struggles. The people described by the biblical writers of Genesis were in situations and relationships very much like our own, and their stories still speak to us because they are about the same basic problems we deal with every day.

Learning from Adam and Eve, can we find the courage not only to face our other side, but to draw strength from it? Learning from Leah and Rachel, can we stop competing with our loved ones, and begin to accept them and find ourselves? Sarah, Hagar, Lot, Ishmael and Isaac, Rebekkah, Joseph and his brothers, Jacob and Esau…this vibrant cast of characters offers us new ways of understanding ourselves and our families and healing our lives.

A modern master of biblical interpretation brings us greater understanding of the ancient biblical text, and of the insights its characters give us about ourselves and our families today.

By bringing the people in Genesis to life—husbands and wives, fathers and sons, brothers and sisters— Self, Struggle & Change shows us how to find wholeness in our lives.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Christian meditation
• Hebrew Bible
• Judaism
• Religion
• Genesis

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 21 juin 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781580236485
• Langue: English

Extrait

Self, Struggle Change
Family Conflict Stories in Genesis and
Their Healing Insights
for Our Lives
Norman J. Cohen
Jewish Lights Publishing Woodstock, Vermont
In his delightfully written book of commentary on commentaries, Norman Cohen shares with his readers what, for many years, he has been giving his students: rare erudition, sensitivity, and insight.
-Elie Wiesel
A delightful and instructive book.
-Library Journal
How do I find greater wholeness in my life and in my family s life?
The stress of late-20th-century living only brings new variations to timeless personal struggles. The people described by the biblical writers of Genesis were in situations and relationships very much like our own, and their stories still speak to us because they are about the same basic problems we deal with every day.
Learning from Adam and Eve , can we find the courage not only to face our other side, but to draw strength from it? Learning from Leah and Rachel , can we stop competing with our loved ones, and begin to accept them and find ourselves? Sarah, Hagar, Lot, Ishmael and Isaac, Rebekkah, Joseph and his brothers, Jacob and Esau this vibrant cast of characters offers us new ways of understanding ourselves and our families and healing our lives.
In this intriguing retelling of conflict between husband and wife, father and son, brothers, and sisters, a modern master of biblical interpretation brings us greater understanding of the ancient biblical text-and of ourselves.
OTHER JEWISH LIGHTS BOOKS
BY NORMAN J. COHEN
Hineini in Our Lives :
Learning How to Respond to Others
through 14 Biblical Texts Personal Stories
Moses the Journey to Leadership :
Timeless Lessons of Effective Management
from the Bible and Today s Leaders
Voices from Genesis :
Guiding Us through the Stages of Life
The Way Into Torah
To the memory of my grandfather ,
R. Hayyim Baruch ,
whom we affectionately called Shorty .
He instilled in me his love of Judaism
and the Jewish people, and his
passion for Torah
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
CHAPTER ONE: ADAM AND EVE
The Different Sides of Each of Us
CHAPTER TWO: CAIN AND ABEL
The Conflict between Good and Evil
CHAPTER THREE: ISHMAEL AND ISAAC
The Tensions between Siblings
CHAPTER FOUR: JACOB AND ESAU
Twins Struggle for Identity
CHAPTER FIVE: LEAH AND RACHEL
Seeking My Sister; Finding Myself
CHAPTER SIX: JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS
The Two Sides Meet Again
EPILOGUE: THE TWO MESSIAHS
When the Different Sides Come Together
Endnotes
Suggested Further Readings
About the Author
Copyright
Also Available
About Jewish Lights Publishing
Acknowledgments
This book is a product of my own spiritual journey which began as a young teenager sitting next to my paternal grandfather in the synagogue on Shabbat afternoon. Watching his face radiate from the power of the words of Torah as he and his friends studied together, I wanted to feel as he did. I, too, wanted to be transformed by the biblical narratives and carried away by them.
So when I studied at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and then began teaching at the New York School, I came to realize that the object of studying and analyzing the text was not merely to understand how and when it came to be and what it meant for those who shaped it, but also what it can mean for us in our own lives. It is in this light that I owe the greatest debt of thanks to the students with whom I have studied over the past twenty years. They have demanded that the Torah speak to us directly, addressing our questions and concerns.
However, my personal journey has been shaped most by my family, without whom I could not have reached this point in my life. They have taught me that immersion into the Torah text must shape who we are as human beings and our priorities in life. My parents, Irving and Molly Cohen z l, my brother Marvin, our children, Leora, Abby, Noah, Mali and Ilan, and my wife Terry, have blessed me with their unconditional love and concern. The journey has not always been easy. Creating a blended family of seven could only happen because of five terrific and flexible young children, and a wife who is a constant support and partner. I am indebted to Terry for making our life and home as wonderful as they are.
I also owe a great deal to many colleagues and friends at the College-Institute in New York and in the Jewish community, several of whom have read parts of this manuscript. Though they will go unnamed, they should know how much their support, advice and concern have buoyed me and have made the many hours I spend at H.U.C.-J.I.R. so rewarding and full. I also want to thank Dr. Alfred Gottschalk, President of the College-Institute, for giving me the opportunity to be part of our wonderful seminary and for his continuing support, and Dr. Eugene Mihaly, my mentor at our Cincinnati campus, who taught me to hear the music of the text.
I also owe much to Marie Cantlon, who edited the book. Her patient guidance, insightful questions and vision helped me find the words and the voice through which to speak. In addition, Sandra Korinchak of Jewish Lights invested an extraordinary amount of time and energy in polishing the manuscript. However, without the friendship, urging, wise counsel and trust of Stuart Matlins, founder of Jewish Lights Publishing, this book would not have been possible. Working with him has been a true labor of love.
In sharing this book with you, I share my life and my own struggles. More importantly, however, I share my passion for the study of Torah in the hope that you will come to see the text as a source of life-giving water. Let all who are thirsty come and drink (Isaiah 55:1).
N.J.C.
On Martha s Vineyard
July 25, 1994
17 Av, 5754
Introduction
The contemporary writer Sam Shepard said that somewhere there is a myth about the wolf and the lamb, and that human beings carry both inside. The process of keeping alive is trying to carry on a balance between these two parts, because one is always trying to devour the other. 1
Shepard s portrayal of the conflict between our different sides is typical of much artistic expression. In his writing we frequently see the roles that pairs of brothers play. These characters clearly represent the struggle within the writer himself, and in each and every one of us. Each brother represents distinctions between male/female, divine/human, good/evil, and life/death, which are always followed by attempts to bridge them. 2
Even though the intelligent modern reader or viewer has no problem identifying tensions between opposites within each human being as represented by pairs of literary characters or mythic heroes, such as Romulus and Remus, to whom the founding of Rome is attributed, the same readers often fail to discern these powerfully relevant patterns in religious texts such as the Bible. This is because most of us do not take the Bible seriously. We see it as an antiquated remnant of the Ancient Near East or we view the study of and reflection upon the biblical text as a religious school exercise, relegated to the education of children. We who never have the opportunity to grapple actively with our sacred stories have a difficult time appreciating how they can speak directly to us and to our life situations. We do not see how they possibly can help us understand ourselves as spouses, parents, children, lovers, and friends, or shape the direction of our lives.
Yet, the power and relevance of the Bible is demonstrated by its enduring presence throughout all parts of western culture. By confronting the biblical text, whether we see it as divinely given or the product of divinely inspired human beings, and immersing ourselves in these sacred stories, we can gain a better sense of the meaning of our own baffling dramas. This, in turn, can affect the nature of our lives and our priorities. 3
To appreciate the importance of the Bible and gain insight about ourselves from it, both Jews and Christians can use the process of midrash: The attempt to find contemporary meaning in the biblical text. The term midrash comes from the Hebrew root darash which means to seek, search or demand (meaning from the biblical text). The starting point of our search for personal meaning is the Bible itself. This is the first level of our midrashic interpretation. By using all the possible knowledge of the Bible at our disposal-philological, literary, historical, archeological, sociological, theological-we can approximate what the biblical writers meant in any given narrative. Our task at the outset is to imbibe the power and flavor of the biblical text itself, attending closely to every word, every detail. Each generation, each reader, can approach the text anew and draw meaning from it. By filtering our sacred stories through the prism of nearly two millennia of rabbinic interpreters, Jews and non-Jews alike can learn from their sense of the text s meaning. It is vital to remember that the great rabbinic sages were human beings too. And as they responded to the text, they responded to the pressures of their own life situations. They had no choice but to read the text through the lens of the political, religious, and socio-cultural conditions under which they lived. Their interpretations embody their polemical replies to the challenges to Jewish survival which they faced living under the Greeks, Romans, Persians, Babylonians, Christians and Moslems. Yet, at the very same time, they also responded to universal questions of meaning raised by every generation and by all people: What does it mean to be a human being created in God s image? How can we make our personal lives better? Can we perfect our world? Their questions are our questions and their interpretations reach across time and space to touch and teach us. This then is the second level of our midrashic study: To open ourselves to the myriad rabbinic interpretations of