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Joy, Despair, and Hope: Reading Psalms
Joy, Despair, and Hope recaptures the power and immediacy of psalms for modern readers, showing how these biblical poems can speak to us yet again. Accompanying the author on his personal spiritual search through psalms, readers find their own inner lives given voice within these texts.
Edward Feld analyzes fifteen personal psalms from the book of Psalms, showing how each provides a different perspective on the life of faith. Feld's insights reveal how individual psalmists struggle with their faith, how they are wracked by doubt and self-questioning, and how they come finally to a greater understanding of faith. This book's clearly articulated analysis is both moving and sophisticated, helping us to enter the spiritual world of these writers, to recognize our own struggles in their ancient words, and to feel these poets alive and walking beside us. Along the way, Feld teaches us how to read psalms as poems and unlocks both their theological message and their literary splendor. Readers emerge with a new appreciation of and connection to the profound religious life and artistry of the biblical psalmists.
"Feld takes up some of the best-loved psalms. By his thoughtful, discerning exposition, he shows why they are the best loved among us, and why they continue as such durable vehicles for contemporary faith. Feld's exposition evidences to the Christian reader how deeply Jews and Christians share the richness of this poetry of faith."
--Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary (emeritus)
"In these personal readings of fifteen psalms, Feld wears his considerable erudition lightly. The book has much of value to say about how to appreciate the psalms as poetry. More than that, it invites readers to see the psalms as windows into the human condition that can resonate as deeply with our own experiences as they do with the author's."
--Judith Plaskow, Manhattan College (emeritus)
"With erudition and a keen poetic sensitivity, Edward Feld explores a diverse selection of psalms, unlocking layers of meaning in these ancient, rich, and complex texts. He insightfully shows how the psalms work and why they should matter to contemporary readers."
--Andrea L. Weiss, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
"Rabbi Feld has a profound understanding of pathways to spiritual striving. Joy, Despair, and Hope deciphers psalms in a way that makes these prayers accessible to people of all backgrounds and all affiliations--indeed, of all faiths. It is tender, soft, and powerfully uplifting."
--Rabbi Avi Weiss, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School
Rabbi Edward Feld is the senior editor of Mahzor Lev Shalem (2010) and the author of The Spirit of Finding Faith after the Holocaust (1994). He has served as Rabbi-in-Residence at the Jewish Theological Seminary and as Hillel Director and Chaplain to the College at Princeton University and Smith and Amherst Colleges. As the Educational Director of Rabbis for Human Rights he developed a curriculum for teaching "Judaism and Human Rights."
Edward Feld analyzes fifteen personal psalms from the book of Psalms, showing how each provides a different perspective on the life of faith. Feld's insights reveal how individual psalmists struggle with their faith, how they are wracked by doubt and self-questioning, and how they come finally to a greater understanding of faith. This book's clearly articulated analysis is both moving and sophisticated, helping us to enter the spiritual world of these writers, to recognize our own struggles in their ancient words, and to feel these poets alive and walking beside us. Along the way, Feld teaches us how to read psalms as poems and unlocks both their theological message and their literary splendor. Readers emerge with a new appreciation of and connection to the profound religious life and artistry of the biblical psalmists.
"Feld takes up some of the best-loved psalms. By his thoughtful, discerning exposition, he shows why they are the best loved among us, and why they continue as such durable vehicles for contemporary faith. Feld's exposition evidences to the Christian reader how deeply Jews and Christians share the richness of this poetry of faith."
--Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary (emeritus)
"In these personal readings of fifteen psalms, Feld wears his considerable erudition lightly. The book has much of value to say about how to appreciate the psalms as poetry. More than that, it invites readers to see the psalms as windows into the human condition that can resonate as deeply with our own experiences as they do with the author's."
--Judith Plaskow, Manhattan College (emeritus)
"With erudition and a keen poetic sensitivity, Edward Feld explores a diverse selection of psalms, unlocking layers of meaning in these ancient, rich, and complex texts. He insightfully shows how the psalms work and why they should matter to contemporary readers."
--Andrea L. Weiss, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
"Rabbi Feld has a profound understanding of pathways to spiritual striving. Joy, Despair, and Hope deciphers psalms in a way that makes these prayers accessible to people of all backgrounds and all affiliations--indeed, of all faiths. It is tender, soft, and powerfully uplifting."
--Rabbi Avi Weiss, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School
Rabbi Edward Feld is the senior editor of Mahzor Lev Shalem (2010) and the author of The Spirit of Finding Faith after the Holocaust (1994). He has served as Rabbi-in-Residence at the Jewish Theological Seminary and as Hillel Director and Chaplain to the College at Princeton University and Smith and Amherst Colleges. As the Educational Director of Rabbis for Human Rights he developed a curriculum for teaching "Judaism and Human Rights."
170 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 30, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 15, 2013
This is an inviting, fresh look at the book of Psalms (not an easy task, considering how many books there are on psalms out there!) that is particularly notable for two reasons.
The book looks at the psalms as poetry (and translated poetry at that). The author takes us through poetic concepts and issues of translation and shows how they impact our reading of different psalms: Who is the speaker? How do stanza breaks affect the reader's sense of what ideas are related and when the mood shifts? What is the rhythm of the line? How do the translator's choices make for radically different readings of certain psalms? The author lays these concepts out clearly for the novice without being condescending to those who have a strong background in poetry, revealing hidden layers of meaning in these psalms.
The second thing that sets this book apart is the author's focus on psalms that question pat theological creeds and find answers that stretch the boundaries of faith. How do the authors account for a God who is so present in the Pentateuch and yet so absent in their own lives? Feld shows the psalms' authors grappling with troubling issues and coming to unique realizations about their faith through that struggle. The result is a book that is both graceful and rich with insight. Truly a pleasure to read.
The book looks at the psalms as poetry (and translated poetry at that). The author takes us through poetic concepts and issues of translation and shows how they impact our reading of different psalms: Who is the speaker? How do stanza breaks affect the reader's sense of what ideas are related and when the mood shifts? What is the rhythm of the line? How do the translator's choices make for radically different readings of certain psalms? The author lays these concepts out clearly for the novice without being condescending to those who have a strong background in poetry, revealing hidden layers of meaning in these psalms.
The second thing that sets this book apart is the author's focus on psalms that question pat theological creeds and find answers that stretch the boundaries of faith. How do the authors account for a God who is so present in the Pentateuch and yet so absent in their own lives? Feld shows the psalms' authors grappling with troubling issues and coming to unique realizations about their faith through that struggle. The result is a book that is both graceful and rich with insight. Truly a pleasure to read.
June 28, 2016
A number of years ago, I took a series of evening classes on the Psalms from Rabbi Feld, at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. At that time, he said he was writing a book on the Psalms, and apparently that book finally came out. He analyzes 15 psalms, under the rubric of (as the title says) joy, despair, and hope. His writing style is wordier than I like, but he has interesting takes on the poems he analyzes, & I enjoyed the book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews