Rabbi Israel Zoberman to lead discussion of S. Y. Agnon

Next month, on the Thursday following Commencement, Dr. Israel Zoberman, from Congregation Beth Chaverim in Virginia Beach, will lead a discussion of In the Heart of the Seas, a modern fable by Shmuel Yosef Agnon (1988-1970), universally regarded as the greatest master of Modern Hebrew fiction. In the Heart of the Seas is a short work about a group Eastern European Hassidim making the long and difficult passage to Israel, which in Agnon’s telling is a spiritual as well as physical journey.

Rabbi Zoberman led the Book Club’s discussion last year of Amos Oz and spoke at the Library’s Holocaust Memorial Service this past January. The Library is pleased to have Dr. Zoberman visit us again to enrich our understanding of one of the essential writers of Modern Hebrew and Israeli literature.

In the Heart of the Seas is written in clear, spare prose and is only 128 pages long, making it an excellent introduction to Agnon’s work. The Library has four copies of the work, and some excellent deals are available from Amazon and Half.com.

The discussion of In the Heart of the Seas will take place on Thursday, May 12th at 1:00 in the Library Conference Room. For a free excerpt of the book or for more information about the Library Book Club, contact Harold Henkel at harohen@regent.edu or 352-4198.