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1996 Book Awards
343
J
e w i s h
T
h o u g h t
The Dorot Foundation Award.
Moses and Civilization
:
The Meaning Behind Freud's Myth
, by
Robert A. Paul. Yale University Press
This is awonderfully refreshing and new look at the Torah based upon
the work of Freud. The depth of Robert Paul’s research is demonstrated
throughout the text and encourages the reader to seek out the original
biblical stories as part of a search to find a deeper meaningwithin contem
porary life. The serious reader of the Torah will be challenged to explore
the biblical text as both an historic document and a study of the psycho
logical development of man. There unique mix of contemporary psycho
logical theory and that study of the biblical text enables the reader to
discover both a depth of meaning and a personal relationship with the
Torah. As American Jews and people of all religious groups pursue their
own spirituality, this volume will open new approaches to understanding
the richness of the Torah traditions. The Jewish Book Council is proud
to recognize
Mosesand Civilization
as an outstanding contribution to Jew
ish thought.
S
c h o l a r s h i p
The Sarah H. and Julius Kushner Memorial Award.
“Your Voice Like a Ram's Horn": Themes and Texts in Tradition
alJewish Teaching
, byMarc Saperstein. Hebrew Union Col
lege Press
Sermons can be understood in a number of ways. Classically, the
preacher was explicitly teaching Torah, but an implicit agenda may have
also been there. Moreover, the preacher always revealed things about
himself and his society. In his pioneeringwork, Marc Saperstein has taken
a genre generally ignored by scholars (and derided by laity) and demon
strated its usefulness for social and intellectual history of Jewish commu
nities in very different circumstances.