Lamentations: Faith in a Turbulent World

Review\\nThe book of Lamentations has found its teacher. Through magisterial literary analyses, informed by deep psychological and spiritual understanding, Dr. Yael Ziegler shows how the text gives authentic voice to the whirlwind of emotional responses to human suffering while still affirming the central faith in God's abiding goodness. A magnificent reading.
\nLeon Kass, Professor Emeritus
\nCommittee on Social Thought, University of Chicago
\nAuthor of Founding God's Nation: Reading Exodus\\nOnce again, Dr. Ziegler does a masterful job in uncovering the multiple layers of meaning in the Biblical text. In a book whose dominant themes are devastating tragedy and utter despair, she shows us the hidden messages of comfort, faith, courage, and resilience - messages that will continue to sustain us through the difficult times we face today.
\nRabbi Dr. Yitzchak Breitowitz
\nSenior Lecturer in Law, Ethics, and Jewish Thought
\nYeshivat Ohr Somayach\\nDr. Ziegler offers us in her reading of Eikha the genuine consolation that comes with study. Her treatment of Lamentations deals with the broad themes of human suffering, the absence and presence of God, the historical destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of its enemies, and the enduring grief of the Jewish people - all while offering a close textual reading that brings to these ancient words the profound emotions they still evoke for contemporary readers.
\nDr. Erica Brown
\nDirector, Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership
\nGeorge Washington University
\nAuthor of Esther: Power, Fate, and Fragility in Exile\\nHow do people progress from despair to hope? How does one maintain faith in God's justice in a world that seems cruel and unfair? What is the nature of Israel's culpability and to what degree does sinfulness factor in Israel's calamities? What is the nation's relationship to its land, to Jerusalem, and to the outside world? Artfully combining traditional and academic scholarship, Dr. Yael Ziegler weaves together close readings of the book of Lamentations (Eikha) with an integrated reading of each chapter and examinations of larger themes. To the reader's surprise, Lamentations emerges as a coherent discourse on the way that people - as individuals and as nations - contend with adversity. Independent essays at the beginning and end of the book, as well as in appendices at the conclusion of the chapters, cover topics such as Eikha's historical background, poetic techniques, theology, structure, and linguistic and thematic connections to other biblical books, most notably the chapters of consolation in Isaiah. Wide-ranging biblical and religious themes emerge, a veritable journey through the Bible's most profound questions. Interweaving careful literary analysis with attention to religious themes, Lamentations: Faith in a Turbulent World illustrates that Eikha is a testimony to the resilient faith of humans, who can persevere through adversity, emerging with a more meaningful relationship with God, with the nation, and with themselves.

Publisher:

Maggid

Pages:

556

Date Published:

2021-06-06