Avivah Zornberg
I used to do the fairly conventional thing... I’d say, ‘here is an idea,’ and then illustrate it [with a text] from the secular world. And then I began to feel that what I really wanted to do was to weave a tapestry, in which here would be Emerson, and here would be the Sfat Emet [late nineteenth-century Gerer Rebbe], and here would be Rashi [eleventh-century biblical commentator] — and then you can see how one reacts on the other. There is a force field in it that I like…
Brief audio excerpts from Zornberg’s interview for Jewish Sages of Today
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On Zornberg’s father and how he impacted her religious outlook
(3:32 min)
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On how natural it feels to her to apply psychoanalytic readings to biblical texts, why she feels in some ways more free than men to work as she pleases in Jerusalem’s modern Orthodox community, and her relationship to right-wing Orthodoxy
(5:54 min)
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On how she approached her analysis of Numbers Chapter 27, and why knowing Emerson adds to one’s experience of studying Torah
(10:38 min)
Writing and talks
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“Law and narrative in the Book of Ruth,” chapter 12 of Zornberg’s book, The Murmuring Deep: Reflections on the Biblical Unconscious (Schocken, 2009)
Zornberg writes of Ruth as a tale about the good things that happen to good people, people who do chesed. She defines this concept as well as the terms “law” and “narrative” and demonstrates that the story of Ruth conveys the core meanings of the word chesed.
CREDIT LINE: From THE MURMURING DEEP: REFLECTIONS ON THE BIBLICAL UNCONSCIOUS by Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, copyright © 2009 by Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg. Used by permission of Schocken Books, a division of Random House, Inc. -
Laughter in the Story of Sarah, April 26, 2010
A lecture at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco in which Zornberg discusses the story of Abraham and Sarah and how laughter changes reality.
(podcast, 1:26:18) -
“And I Am a Stranger: Becoming Ruth,” April 28, 2009
A lecture at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco in which Zornberg discusses the Book of Ruth and the psychological aspects of being a stranger.
(podcast, 1:13:07)
Books, DVDs, and selected articles
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The Murmuring Deep: Reflections on the Biblical Unconscious
(Shocken Books, 2009)
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The Particulars of Rapture: Reflections on Exodus
(Doubleday Religious Publishing Group, 2002)
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Genesis: The Beginning of Desire
(Jewish Publication Society, 1996)
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Dr. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg DVD Series
(Infomedia Judaica, Ltd)
A series of DVDs on a variety of topics -
Selected articles and chapters
These recent articles and chapters were identified by Zornberg as being particularly significant and/or representative of her work.
Zornberg's website
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Avivah Zornberg’s Website
View her teaching schedule in Israel, her lecture touring schedule, read reviews, view videos, listen to podcasts, and order books and DVDs on this site
Videos and more
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SoundSeen: In the Room with Avivah Zornberg, March 16, 2011
View an unedited video interview conducted by Krista Tippett (host and producer of the public radio show On Being) with Zornberg, filmed in Zornberg’s home in the Old Katamon neighborhood of Jerusalem. During the interview, they delve into the connection between language and civilization and the personal and psychological components to the biblical stories of Noah and the Flood, and of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden.
(video, 56:22) -
Short videos of Zornberg
Several short videos of Zornberg discussing a range of topics on JInsider.
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Bill Moyers: Genesis - A Living Conversation
Zornberg appeared on this PBS program, available for purchase at this link.
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The Maurice N. Eisendrath Bearer of Light Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Reform Movement, was awarded to Zornberg in 2009
This video of the award presentation includes heartfelt testimonies of Reform rabbis who have been influenced and inspired by Zornberg’s work.
(video, 14:17 min)