Poetry. IN THE SHADOW OF A BURNING BUSH follows Azriel's poetic commentary on Genesis, Threads from a Coat of Many Colors, with an even more powerful commentary on Exodus. It is, simultaneously, a retelling of the Exodus story, a reliving of Jewish history, and an expression of contemporary Jewish experience. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of the Torah and the rabbinic texts, Azriel illustrates the story of Moses and the Exodus in a series of inspired poems, approaching its themes with a mastery of poetic forms—from sonnet to free verse—and a brilliant visual and auditory imagination. He links many aspects of the biblical account with later episodes in Jewish history, such as the Holocaust. Azriel writes with the kind of authority rarely found among modern poets.

Author Hometown: Efrat ISR



About the author: Yakov Azriel was born in New York, in 1950, as Gerald Rosenkrantz. After receiving his B.A. in English literature, summa cum laude, at Brooklyn College, in 1971, he moved to Israel, where he changed his name to Yakov Azriel. He studied at the Mercaz HaRav Kook Yeshiva, in Jerusalem, and the Har-Etzion Yeshiva, in Alon-Shvut, Israel, and later completed an M.A., with distinction, and a doctorate in Judaica, concentrating on the stories of Rabbi Nachman of Braslav. His poems have won twelve prizes in international competitions, including the 2004 Miriam Lindberg Poetry for Peace Prize. In addition, Azriel was awarded a fellowship from the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, in 2004-2005, for his poetry.