In the words of Judy’s students:“Judy is not just a teacher of Torah, but like her own teacher, Nehama Leibowitz, she is a creator of Torah. Judy grasps the tree of life and swings, lovingly showing her students how to do the same.”
“Judy completely transformed the way I read the Torah and, in fact, all Jewish texts. Her literary connections were mind-blowing for me, and opened up a whole new way of understanding the Tanakh.”
“Judy was magic. Before my class with Judy, the Hebrew text was an impenetrable wall of stone. After my time with Judy, it was an open gate.”
“Subversive Sequels in the Bible… achieves a modicum of eternity. Klitsner offers the reader a fascinating dialogue between biblical narratives, in order to present a moral vision relevant to the 21st century… Although based on much scholarship, the volume is not an academic work. Its lively flowing style and profound articulation make it accessible to the intelligent layman who can only delight in Klitsner’s creative analysis.”
Ha’aretz
“Do yourself a favor. Don’t bother with the rest of my review; just buy this book and start reading it. The first chapter… overflows with insights that seem so ridiculously obvious once someone else has pointed them out, it seems impossible not to have noticed them before. Subversive Sequels is very readable and Klitsner takes great care to write in a way that respects both traditional and academic approaches to the biblical text. Buy this book for your library, get yourself a copy and buy one for a friend.”
Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter
Judy Klitsner is a senior lecturer at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, where she has been teaching Bible and biblical exegesis for more than two decades. A disciple of the great Torah teacher Nechama Leibowitz, Judy has had a profound impact on a generation of students, of whom many now serve as teachers and heads of Jewish studies programs in the US, the UK and Israel. In her teaching and in her writing, Judy weaves together traditional exegesis, modern scholarship and her own original interpretations that are informed by close readings of the biblical text. She lectures internationally at synagogues, campuses and adult education programs that span the denominational spectrum and she holds a visiting lectureship at the London School of Jewish Studies. Judy’s teaching style is lively, interactive and text-based, and she is particularly fond of uncovering the “vibrant conversation” that takes place between the Bible’s parallel stories. Judy Klitsner is the author of Subversive Sequels in the Bible: How Biblical Stories Mine and Undermine Each Other (Jewish Publication Society, paperback by Koren Publishers). The book received a 2009 National Jewish book award.