Tag Archives: Rabbi Israel Zoberman

Rabbi Israel Zoberman to lead discussion of Tevye the Dairyman

On Friday, April 19th, Rabbi Dr. Israel Zoberman will lead a discussion of Tevye the Dairyman, by Sholem Aleichem (1859-1916).

Tevye the Dairyman is perhaps the best-loved work of all Yiddish literature and forms the basis for the musical Fiddler on the Roof. In Tevye, Sholem Aleichem created a modern Job, who combines profound sorrow with gratitude to God for all the fullness of life.

This discussion will mark Rabbi Zoberman’s fourth visit with the Library Book Club. In the past three years, the Book Club has read Modern Hebrew masters S. Y. Agnon, Amos Oz, and David Grossman. Tevye the Dairyman is our first venture into Yiddish literature. Readers interested in Jewish history and culture will not want to miss this event. The Library owns two well-received modern translations by Schocken and Penguin Books.

The discussion will take place at 1:00 p.m. in the Library Conference Room (located inside Library Administration). For information about this or other Library Book Club events, please contact Harold Henkel at harohen@regent.edu.

Image Credit: http:en.wikipedia.orgwikiSholem_Aleichem

Rabbi Israel Zoberman leads book discussion about Samson

What does the Biblical story of Samson have to do with modern Israel? Quite a lot, according to Israeli author David Grossman and local rabbi Dr. Israel Zoberman.

On April 20, fourteen members of the Regent community joined Rabbi Israel Zoberman for a discussion of Lion’s Honey, David Grossman’s examination and retelling of the Sampson story in Judges 13-16. For Grossman, Samson is a metaphor for the tension inherent in Zionism and modern Israel. As Rabbi Zoberman explained, the birth of modern Zionism was deeply “anti-rabbinic” in calling on Jews in the diaspora to look to themselves for their own welfare and to establish a Jewish state before the coming of the messiah. Whereas European Rabbis had traditionally emphasized study and submission to the Gentile authorities, virulent anti-Semitism convinced Zionists that Jews must have a strong state to guarantee their own survival.

Rabbi Zoberman emphasized that Samson is a metaphor for modern Israeli society not only because, like Samson, Israel is so much stronger than her enemies; but also because like Samson, a Nazarite (from the Hebrew word nazir meaning “consecrated” or “separated”), the Jewish people have been called by God “to be a special people unto Himself” (Deuteronomy 7:6). This tension, according to Rabbi Zoberman, between the Biblical and rabbinic teaching that the Jews are a “special people” unto God and the Zionist insistence that Jews must count on themselves for their defense, is one of the ironies of Jewish history that continue to define and shape Israel today.

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Book Discussion & Film Screening: Contemporary Israeli literature and cinema

On Friday, April 20, Dr. Israel Zoberman, from Congregation Beth Chaverim in Virginia Beach, will lead a discussion of Lion’s Honey: The Myth of Sampson, by David Grossman (b. 1954), one of Israel’s most admired contemporary writers. Lion’s Honey is Grossman’s examination and retelling of the Sampson story in Judges 13-16.

The discussion of Lion’s Honey will mark Rabbi Zoberman’s third visit with the Library Book Club. He is a true scholar and an always engaging speaker. Readers interested in Judaism and modern Israel will not want to miss this event. The book is around 100 pages and can be read in one sitting. For a free excerpt, contact Harold Henkel at harohen@regent.edu.

The Lion’s Honey discussion will be at 1:00 p.m. in the Library Conference Room, located in the Library Administration area.

As a complement to the tragic story of Samson, Professor of Cinema Andrew Quicke will introduce and screen a contemporary Israeli comedy. A Matter of Size is a film about a “Sampson” of a different sort—an obese cook who discovers a talent and love for Sumo wrestling. The screening will be on Thursday, April 19th at 6:30 p.m. in Screening Room B (COM 143).

Rabbi Israel Zoberman leads book discussion at the Library

Written by Harold Henkel, Associate Librarian

On May 12th, thirteen members of the Regent community joined Rabbi Israel Zoberman for a discussion of In the Heart of the Seas, a modern fable by Shmuel Yosef Agnon (1888-1970). In the Heart of the Seas is a modern fable about a group of Hassidim from Eastern Europe making aliyah (“ascent”), the return to Israel. Deceptively simple, In the Heart of the Seas is a retelling of the Exodus from Egypt. In Agnon’s story aliyah is both a physical and spiritual journey, and as with the ancient Israelites, the travelers must overcome many hardships and temptations to return to EgyptEurope.

Rabbi Zoberman, who speaks both Yiddish and Hebrew, was an ideal guide to Agnon. Dr. Zoberman explained that one of the purposes in Agnon’s works was to recreate the world of East European Jewry, which perished in the Holocaust. The conversation covered an exceptionally wide range of topics, including Hassidism, Zionism, Rabbinical interpretations of Scripture, the Holocaust, and contemporary Israeli culture. Rabbi Zoberman also said that, while he had read In the Heart of the Seas years before in Hebrew, the positive reception to the story by readers at Regent had given him a new appreciation for the work as being not just for Jews, but for all readers sensitive to the story’s spiritual message. Agnon would seem to agree, concluding the book with a verse from the Psalms for readers who have derived benefit from his story: “But those who wait for the Lord, they shall inherit the land” (Psalm 37:9).

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.