Avivah Zornberg, widely acclaimed as one of the world’s most captivating teachers of the Torah, will present “The Murmuring Deep: Moses’ Speech Inhibition as Pivotal Issue in the Exodus Narrative” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18, in the sanctuary of Adath Jeshurun Congregation, 10500 Hillside Lane West, Minnetonka.
The presentation is sponsored by the Literary Arts Institute of the College of St. Benedict in collaboration with the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning, a joint enterprise of the University of St. Thomas and St. John’s University, and with Adath Jeshurun Congregation. It is free and open to the public.
Drawing on rabbinic and hasidic sources, as well as on philosophical and psychoanalytical thinking, Zornberg will explore the nature of Moses’ speech inhibition and explain why she considers this to be a pivotal issue in the Exodus narrative.
Zornberg earned a Ph.D. in English literature from Cambridge University and holds a visiting lectureship in the London School of Jewish Studies. After teaching English literature at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, she turned to teaching Torah in a number of venues in Jerusalem, where she has drawn thousands of students to her lectures.
Known for her highly original and provocative insights into biblical texts, Zornberg is the author of three books that have been widely acclaimed as masterpieces of biblical interpretation: The Beginning of Desire: Reflections on Genesis, which won of the National Jewish Book Award; The Particulars of Rapture: Reflections on Exodus; and The Murmuring Deep: Reflections on the Biblical Unconscious.