Messengers of God: Biblical Portraits and Legends

Messengers of God: Biblical Portraits and Legends

Elie Wieselâ€™s classic look at Job and seven other Biblical characters as they grapple with their relationship with God and the question of his justice.

â€œWiesel has never allowed himself to be diverted from the role of witness for the martyred Jews and survivors of the Holocaust, and by extension for all those who through the centuries have asked Job's question: â€˜What is God doing and where is His justice?â€™ Here in a masterful series of mythic portraits, drawing upon Bible tales and the Midrashim (a body of commentary), Wiesel explores â€˜the distant and haunting figures that molded himâ€™: Adam, Cain and Abel, Abraham and Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Job. With the dramatic invention of a Father Mapple and the exquisite care of a Talmudic scholar, Wiesel interprets the wellsprings of Jewish religious tradition as the many faces of manâ€™s greatness facing the inexplicable. In an intimate relationship with God it is possible to complain, to demand. Adam and Eve in sinning â€œcried outâ€ against the injustice of their entrapment; Cain assaulted God rather than his brother; and Abraham's agreement to sacrifice his son placed the burden of guilt on Him who demanded it. As for Job, Wiesel concludes that he abdicated his defiance as did the confessing Communists of Stalinâ€™s time to â€˜underline the implausibilityâ€™ of his trial, and thus become the accuser. Wieselâ€™s concern with the imponderables of fate seems to move from strength to strengthâ€ (Kirkus Reviews).
Country USA
Brand Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer Simon & Schuster
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber 9780671541347
ReleaseDate 1985-03-07
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780671541347

Country	USA
Brand	Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer	Simon & Schuster
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	9780671541347
ReleaseDate	1985-03-07
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780671541347

Messengers of God: Biblical Portraits and Legends

You might also like...