Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel

Have you ever wondered about the beginning of Genesis in the context of the three thousand years of pondering prompted by these seminal three chapters? It is hard to imagine a more enjoyable use of time than to join the “Timeless Theological Conversation” (subtitle) of Michael Samuel in his engagement with the likes of everyone from Plato through Pelagius and Augustine up to philosopher Derrida and literary theorist Bahktin—and countless more.

This magnificent interdisciplinary work will prompt, will compel, its reader to consider fundamental issues of the dynamic among text, self, and others within the context of cultures and time. These 439 pages (plus indices) deal superbly with  nothing less than everyone’s journey of “Birth and Rebirth” (title), a dialectic of visiting, re-visiting, and adding to the insights of any classic text.

Paul Borgman, Author of Genesis: The Story We Haven’t Heard