Redeeming Relevance in the Book of Exodus: Explorations in Text and Meaning

by Rabbi Francis Nataf

Is there nothing new to learn from reading the Book of Exodus again? Must all attempts at finding relevant meaning for today wallow in superficiality and flightiness? As he did with the Book of Genesis, veteran educator and Bible teacher Rabbi Francis Nataf shows us that careful and creative analysis of the text can still reap completely new and provocative insights geared to the intelligent modern reader. In a series of sophisticated yet readable essays, Rabbi Nataf uses his literary awareness and profound knowledge of text, Midrash and commentaries to come up with refreshingly original readings of some of the major stories in Exodus. The centrality of exile and alienation, national memory, the significance of clothing and how to relate to the “other” are only some of the topics that he discusses via the Biblical text’s treatment of Moshe, Moshe’s family and the Jewish nation as a whole. A must-read for anyone looking to appreciate how we should study Exodus in our time.

138 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2010