Yochanan Muffs’ "The Personhood of God," published in 2005 by Jewish Lights, has recently been translated into Hebrew and published by Shalom Hartman Institute’s Yahaduyot series. This new book makes Muffs’ startling insights and unique style available to the Hebrew-speaking public.
In "The Personhood of God," this renowned Bible scholar and theologian examines the anthropomorphic evolution of the Divine Image – from creator of the cosmos to God the father, the husband, the king, the ultimate master – and how these different images of God have shaped our faith and world view.
He then turns to explore the meaning of expressions of divine power, divine will and divine love throughout the Bible and their impact on rabbinic prayer and midrash. This is done with a comparative view to ancient near eastern and other monotheistic religions.
The book ends with a discussion of the significance of the religious world view expounded in the book in our modern era, with its enriching dialectic between faith and doubt.
David Hartman’s foreword in "The Personhood of God" expresses the uniqueness of this work: “Yochanan Muffs unapologetically restores the vitality of the personhood of God. God’s ‘humanity’ is presented with such vivid and compelling realism that readers may experience difficulty in continuing to worship the impersonal God of the philosophers, preferring instead the full-bodied, ‘human’ God of the Bible as seen through the eyes of Yochanan Muffs.”
Similarly, Norman Cohen, provost of Hebrew Union College and author, calls this book, "a blueprint for understanding God’s dynamic nature and presence" and recommends it to "all those in search for meaning in their lives." This important work can now serve this same purpose for a Hebrew readership.
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