Jerusalem-Based Torah Scholar Comes to Atlanta
BY RON FEINBERG / Web Editor //
It’s not often that a scholar can speak to the Jewish community and connect with members of all the traditional movements. Then again, most teachers don’t have the creative and intellectual gifts of Avivah Zornberg.
Dr. Zornberg, a Jerusalem-based educator and Torah scholar, will be in Atlanta next week speaking at five different venues that spill across the full spectrum of mainstream Jewish thought and belief. She is known and respected for her intellectual depth and wit, a euphonic blend of traditional Jewish exegesis, Hasidic texts and Western philosophy.
For years her weekly lectures on Torah attracted a large and passionate audience, including academics and rabbinical students; artists, writers and poets; business professionals, homemakers and the occasional politician in search of spiritual sustenance. None of this should be surprising, given her family background, education and temperament.
Dr. Zornberg was born in England, grew up in Scotland and now lives in Israel. Her father – the man she credits with being her greatest teacher – was a rabbi in Glasgow and chief of the city’s rabbinical court. Many of her ancestors were rabbis in Eastern Europe. She attended Cambridge University and holds both a BA and PhD in English Literature.
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Dr. Zornberg taught literature for a time at Hebrew University, then began writing and teaching biblical commentary on the books of the Torah in the early 1980s. Her work attracted immediate attention and praise, especially in the U.S. after she appeared on PBS in “Genesis: A Living Conversation”, a series of programs focusing on the Book of Genesis produced and hosted by Bill Moyers. She remains a highly respected and sought after teacher and lecturer.
IF YOU GO
Dr. Avivah Zornberg will be lecturing at five synagogues across metro Atlanta next week on a broad range of biblical topics. Locations, times, contact numbers and synagogue websites are detailed below. For additional info, including lecture topics, you can click onto Dr. Zornberg’s website at www.avivahzornberg.com/
Shabbat, April 26-27
Young Israel of Toco Hills; 2074 LaVista Road NE, No. 4, Atlanta. For additional info: (404) 315-1417; www.yith.org
Sunday, April 28
Ahavath Achim; 600 Peachtree Battle Avenue, N.W. Atlanta; coffee, 9:30 a.m.; lecture, 10 a.m.-11:30 a.m. For additional info: (404) 355-5222, ext. 230; www.AASynagogue.org
Sunday, April 28
Congregation Etz Chaim; 1190 Indian Hill Pkwy NE, Marietta; lecture, 7:15 p.m. For additional info: (770) 973-0137; www.etzchaim.net/index.aspx
Monday, April 29
The Temple / MJCCA; 1589 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta; lecture, 7 p.m. For Additional info: (404) 873-1731; www.the-temple.org/
Tuesday, April 30
Temple Sinai; 5645 Dupree Drive NW, Atlanta; lecture, 7:30 p.m. For additional info: (404) 252-3073; www.templesinaiatlanta.org/
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