The Particulars of Rapture: Reflections on Exodus

As in her previous book on Genesis, in The Particulars of Rapture Aviva Zornberg combines her knowledge of traditional Jewish sources with her background in literary analysis and philosophy. In her exegesis of the Exodus narrative she draws heavily upon the midrash of the ancient rabbis to uncover the hidden stories and emotions lurking in the gaps of the biblical text. Weaving together text and interpretation, Zornberg creates a new narrative – one which is not strictly Bible or midrash, but which explores the dreams and fears of the human condition. Zornberg has a gift for weaving the particulars of the biblical text into its larger themes; she is able to see in the symbol of the unleavened bread the Jews’ lack of readiness and uncomfortability with the notion of freedom, a theme which reverberates throughout Exodus. In explicating the grand themes of redemption, revelation and betrayal, Zornberg shows that the book of Exodus is not simply the story of a people leaving Egypt, but the story of all humankind.