We have finally come through the intense holiday season. But now we begin again.

Why read the same book over and over? Why watch the same movie more than once? Or listen to a beautiful piece of music? Or gaze at a favorite painting each time you go to the museum?

Each time we watch or listen or gaze, we are somewhat different. We are older. We have had new experience. We have experienced joy or suffered sadness.

But there is also beauty in familiarity and sometimes that comfort level allows us to see beyond what we have become familiar with.

The Torah is different for each of us each time we read. We may think we know the story. But we may understand a word differently or see something in the life of a character.

So let us begin…again.

On display in the library this week are books about Judaism’s first family and the events of Genesis, first book of the Torah.

Fisher, The Seven Days of Creation

Freehof, Bible Legends: an introduction to Midrash

Graves, Hebrew Myths: the Book of Genesis

Kimmel, Why the Snake Crawls on its Belly

Rosenblatt, Wrestling with the Angels: What Genesis Teaches Us About Our Spiritual Identity, Sexuality and Personal Relationships

Sarna, Understanding Genesis: the world of the Bible in the light of history

Swartz, In Our Image: God’s first creatures

Waskow, Before there was a before

Zevit, What Really Happened in the Garden of Eden

Image(s): “Reading” © Sam Greenhalgh used with permission via Creative Commons License