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The Genius of Genesis
Telephone:
E-mail Genesis@DennisShulman.com To read "The Biblical Psychoanalyst," a free monthly newsletter featuring the work of Rabbi Dennis G. Shulman, Ph.D., click here. If you wish to schedule Rabbi Dr. Shulman for a book
signing, speaking engagement or university lecture: Listen to a WNYC Radio Interview On September 16, 2003, Dennis Shulman was interviewed about The Genius of Genesis on "The Brian Lehrer Show," WNYC AM-820, FM-93.9 and WNYC.org (the flagship National Public Radio station in NYC). To hear Brian Lehrer's interview of Rabbi Dr. Shulman, click here. In the WNYC Reading Room, you can find the first chapter of The Genius of Genesis. Click here to visit the Reading Room and read "Chapter One: A Psychoanalytic Journey to the Sacred." From the Back Cover As the first man and woman leave the Garden, I am with them. Because the ancient voice of the text speaks to me, I feel their longing to go back, their guilt and shame about what they have just done, their fears about the future. I feel their anxiety about whether their Creator, their Father, their God is still with them, and still loves them. I feel their panic quickly rise as they recognize that this no-longer-so-cozy world might not make life possible for them or their children. As Abraham walks silently up the mountain to sacrifice his son, I am with him. I ask the same questions he asks. Should I obey the dictates of my God and my principles, or is there a higher good that involves the sanctity of human life? Can I be Abraham if I refuse to listen to the God I revere and lead others to know and worship? Can I be Abraham if my beloved God that I worship demands human blood for His adoration? As Jacob wrestles throughout the long dark night, I am with him. I know how he struggles with himself and his history. I sweat with him as he glares at his own betrayal of his father and brother. I sweat with him as he witnesses, full-face, his character, naked and base. Then, the next morning, I weep as he and his brother weep--brothers at last. My goal in this book is to bring you right next to me on this pilgrimage into the psychological wisdom literature that is Genesis. For this journey, it is Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and his children, and even God who serve as guides. It is my fervent hope that, by examining the narratives and heroes of Genesis, we will, by journey's end, find ourselves. From the Front Cover It was on September 11, 2001, as I sat in my New York City psychotherapy office, three miles north of the World Trade Center that was abruptly and eerily no more, that I decided that I had to write this book. With the smoke and dust choking my beloved city, and a gaping bleeding hole in its soul, the obscene result of religious fundamentalism, I felt the need to write what I had learned, taught and lectured for the past ten years--that in the biblical narrative lies answers to the most important and troubling contemporary questions of our lives; that we do not have to yield this great library of psychological wisdom literature to the fundamentalists. It was on that day of death and devastation that I decided to capture in print my journey to the sacred. It is my burning hope and prayer that this book helps us reaffirm that our lives do have meaning, beauty and purpose. This is, after all, the point of the Bible, and its most compelling, lasting and cherished message. This is the genius of Genesis. Table of Contents
Part One: Who We Are
Part Two: How We change
Part Three: Dialogue
About the Author Rabbi Dennis G. Shulman, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist-psychoanalyst with private practices in Manhattan and Bergen County, New Jersey. For almost thirty years, he has treated individuals and couples, and taught and supervised mental health professionals throughout the United States and Europe. Dennis Shulman is on the Kollel faculty of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (the Reform rabbinic seminary in New York City; and a member of the senior faculty, a training analyst and clinical supervisor at psychoanalytic institutes in New York, Minnesota and Missouri. In May, 2003, he received rabbinic ordination. Dennis Shulman is a frequent and popular lecturer at universities, psychoanalytic training institutes, synagogues and churches. His lectures on psychopathology are featured in the nationally-televised PBS series, "The World of Abnormal Psychology." Dennis Shulman received his B.A. from Brandeis University in 1972, his Ph.D. from Harvard University four years later, and his postdoctoral psychoanalytic certificate from the National Institute for the Psychotherapies in 1980. Dennis Shulman lives in New Jersey with his wife, an obstetrician, and their two daughters. Saturday mornings, he leads Shabbat services at Chavurah Beth Shalom in Alpine, NJ. |
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