The Torah: A Modern Commentary

by Bernard Bamberger (Contributor), William W. Hallo (Contributor), Gunther Plaut (Editor)

One of the outstanding works of Reform Judaism.

Genres: Religion, Judaism, Jewish, Judaica, Old Testament, Nonfiction, Theology

Hardcover

First published December 15, 1981

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps one of the best commentaries that is written from a Jewish/Hebrew perspective on the book of Genesis in the Bible. It is faithful to the text of the Torah and provides meat to the serious exegete yet is easily understood by the layperson as well.

[Robert New England · Rating 4 out of 5]

The official Chumash of Reform Judaism. Complete with the Hebrew text; English translations; commentaries and essays; and gleanings from talmudic sources and the writings of scholars, ancient and modern; evidence from modern archaeological discoveries. Has a theologically liberal view of God, Torah and revelation. The commentary generally focuses on the peshat, the plain meaning of the text – what is the story about? What meaning did the original author intend to convey to the original audience? But it is severely lacking in traditional Jewish perspectives, and it doesn't always fairly portray Conservative Jewish or Orthodox Jewish points of view.

[Jack Townsend · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite Torah version.

[Sam Kauffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent translation that has been source of much learning, community building, and intellectual growth for yours truly.

[Henric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book...it was all I wanted for my 40th birthday...is a gem. It gives a liberal yet solidly Jewish understanding of the Torah text (which is printed in both vowelized Hebrew and English. Each Portion is preceded by a longer article that breaks down the portion in context and importance within Judaism as well as historical and cultural context. Each Parasha (Portion) is also accompanied by quotes and passages from Extra Torah sources, such as the Talmud, Agadah and Midrash, that are of relevance to the specific portion.

It's a very good place to start if one writing a Drash or is simply aiming at understanding the Hebrew Bible Text better.

One draw back is that Plaut relies completely on the Traditional English Text in the translation (JPS 1917), instead of offering his readers something new.

[Daniel]

This is intended as a review of the particulars of this volume and not the primary document itself. This is, I believe, the standard volume for Torah reading and study among American Reform Jewish synagogues. It is certainly the one I grew up with. I really like the easy to correlate Hebrew and English text arrangement, the ubiquitous footnotes explaining unfamiliar words, terms, and alternative translations, and the short essays following every Torah portion providing commentary. I haven't read the whole thing, but I always enjoy reading from this volume and always get something meaningful from it.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I certainly don't agree with all of Plaut's conclusions in this commentary. That being said the commentaries do help clarify many obscure parts of the Old Testament and helps me prepare for Torah Study and have intelligent things to say.

[Craig Bolton]

"The Torah: A Modern Commentary, Revised Edition by David E. S. Stein (2005)"

[Arthur Gershman · Rating 5 out of 5]

See my Amazon review.

[David Rullo · Rating 5 out of 5]

...And now we start at the beginning again tomorrow...

[Israel]

Mlm

[Mike]

At $21 used, and $60+ for new, I may have to delay getting this one.