Author: Tzvee Zahavy
Located in: Teaneck NJ
Submitted: September 15, 2011
Tell us a little about yourself. I was born and raised in New York City. I am an expert in the fields of Judaism, Talmud and Jewish liturgy.
I received my BA in mathematics, master's degree in Jewish History, and rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University, where I studied for four years with Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik.
After receiving my Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Brown University, I was on the faculty of the University of Minnesota for nineteen years. I taught courses in Judaism, Jewish history and culture, Bible, World Religions, and seminars in classical Hebrew texts. I also received the Distinguished Teaching Award from the College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota.
What was your motivation behind this project? Through this book I invite the reader into the heart of Jewish spirituality, to learn about its idiom and imagery, its emotions and its great sweeping dramas.
What do you hope folks will gain from this project? I invite the reader to meet six ideal personalities of Jewish prayer and to get to know some of God's favorite prayers.
How were you personally impacted by working on this project? In writing this book I took an inventory of what I have learned in my spiritual life as a Jew, from the time I was a child through my adult life. I combined that with what I have learned as a scholar and teacher during several decades as a professor.
Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists? In this book I write about six ideal personalities of prayer and real spiritual influences who personify them. I talk about the archetypes that I call the performer, the mystic, the scribe, the priest, the meditator and the celebrity. To bring these "ideal people" to life, I recount my experiences with towering and inspiring spiritual personalities, including Cantor Louis Danto, Rabbi Joseph Solovietchik, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, Rabbi Meir Kahane and my father, Rabbi Zev Zahavy.
Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: I wrote this book in a style that is accessible for scholars and lay people, Jews and Christians alike.
(PS: My first name is spelled Tzvee.)
