Awaiting God cover art

Awaiting God

A New Translation of Attente De Dieu and Lettre a Un Religieux

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Awaiting God

By: Simone Weil
Narrated by: Rosemary Benson
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About this listen

Awaiting God combines a fresh translation of Simone Weil's Waiting for God and Letter to a Priest Attente de Dieu and Lettre un Religieux in one volume.

These works are considered Weil's primary essays and letters. In addition, Simone Weil's niece has contributed an introductory article entitled, 'Simone Weil and the Rabbi's: Compassion and Tsedekah,' which puts Weil's relationship with Jewish thought into perspective. She includes source material from the Rabbis that put Weil (however reluctantly) in line with rabbinical thought throughout her major themes. The book is the ideal English introduction to the works and thought of Simone Weil, including important preface material (by Jersak) on how to read her work, as well as her relationship to Roman Catholicism and Judaism.

©2013 Original French version: Public domain. English translation: Brad Jersak. Introduction: Sylvie Weil (who has granted written permission) (P)2014 Brad Jersak / Sylvie Weil (with permission)
Christianity Judaism Political Science

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Challenging

Weil's writing is deeply personal and religious.
She is remarkably honest and wise, though I did tire of her commitment to the notion that her own imperfections are somehow more profound than the common frailties the rest of us live and struggle with.
Weil writes to make sense of her own encounter with God - both in an ecstatic mystical experience, and in her reading of religious and philosophical literature from around the world. Weil struggles to reconcile her faith in the gospel of Christ with the current and historic teachings and practices of the Catholic church.
I appreciate translator Brad Jersak's inclusion of alternate translations for particular words throughout. He doesn't do this so often as to interrupt the flow of the text, but it is helpful to get a richer understanding of what Weil is communicating in the French.
Both Jersak's preface and Sylvie Weil's introduction add a good deal to understanding context. Neither is overly long, and I'd recommend not skipping them to those who (like me) usually jump to the meat of a text.
Rosemary Benson reads aloud beautifully. Her voice is never flat, and never emotionally overwrought. My only complaint is that her enunciation of the Greek and Latin portions of the text is awful - she suddenly develops the most enormous plum in her mouth, who knows why. But these sections are short and infrequent, so mine is really a very small complaint.

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Pure intelligence written with impeccable craftsmanship

Simone Weil is one of the people we need to keep alive, by way of reading and listening, in order to question the original intentions of Christianity.

She dedicated her life to knowledge. Her discipline for seeking out truth combined with her ability to build relationships makes her a figure adored by many all over the globe.

This piece is a great read or listen. I suggest you research a bit about Simone Weil, if you haven’t already, in order to understand her personal history and values.

This translation is my favourite. I also recommend Gravity and Grace for those interested in her philosophies.

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