Teaching

Adult Bible Study: Sundays, 9:30-10:30 AM, KAM Isaiah Israel Congregation, S. Greenwood and E. Hyde Park Blvd, Chicago, IL.

2007-2008 Second Isaiah

2006-2007 Exodus

Adult Bible Study, Sept. 2005 Laughter in the Book of Job?

The tragedy of an innocent person suffering is no laughing matter. But dramatic treatment of a horrific subject which concludes with the sufferer laughing out loud could be cathartic for an audience. This course treats the book of Job as a whole work of art. After traumas of losing his children, servants, animals, physical well-being, and community, Job maintains his integrity. While his friends condemn him, he questions the belief that anyone who suffers must have done something wrong. Job anticipates he will be vindicated by God. But Divine revelation ignores Job’s question of justice and challenges Job to respond to a grand-eloquent description of powers quite beyond human experience. Translators and commentators have interpreted Job’s response (42:6) in three ways by filling in the ellipsis. Job repents, that is humbly acknowledges he is wrong about something, even though YHWH states Job is innocent. Job rebels, that is rejects God. Or Job despises his lost wealth and comforts himself for loss of his children. Reading Job as tragicomedy offers an alternative. I propose that Job’s response to Divine revelation is just what YHWH intended for a favorite who is tested, laughter at the incongruity between what Job expected and Divine prodding. Appreciation of ancient Hebrew wit allows us to view heaven and earth, to identify with the anguish of an uncorrupted person, to explore arguments without an answer as to why innocent people suffer. Job’s community gathers to comfort him “for all the misfortune that YHWH had brought upon him” (42:11), so Job, more prosperous than at the beginning of the tale, dies “old and full of days.” (42:17) Acknowledging misery, this paper will show how the book of Job is intended to evoke relief. Cathartic laughter is healing.

Adult Bible Study, Sept. 2003 through March 2005

"What was David Thinking?"

Combining psalms with narrative, this course uncovers David's changing perceptions of his experience at every phase of his life from youth till death.

Bio:

Beyond her passion for the study of Torah, Adrien has turned her professional attention to environmental issues. In response to the increasing incidence of respiratory distress in Chicago and world wide, Adrien invented and patented air filter masks which are effective, comfortable and fashionable. She is CEO of I Can Breathe! Inc. Her curriculum vita, including articles about the Bible, can be seen at http://www.icanbreathe.com/designer.htm.