Torat Ahava - Loving Torah

by Rabbi Avi Weiss

The title of this thematic commentary on the Torah, Torat Loving Torah, has a twofold message. First, “loving” can be read as a verb, reflecting my passion for Torah. In the words of the Psalmist, “How I love Your Torah, I meditate on it all day long” (Psalms 119:97). Second, “loving” can be seen as an adjective, reflecting what, for me, is the foundation of Torah. At its core, Torah is a book of love. Each letter expresses God’s infinite love for His people and for humankind.

580 pages, Hardcover

Published August 28, 2023

Reviews

[Kristjan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a five (5) volume work covering the Jewish Torah (aka The Pentateuch or the first five(5) books of the Christian Old Testament). Right off the bat you recognize that this is an ambitious effort that eventually runs well over 658 pages. Each volume is dedicated to one of the five (5) books and within each volume, the chapters basically cover a specific story within that book, which is further divided into brief commentaries on specific elements within the story. As I come from a different tradition than what can be extracted from these commentaries, I can’t really evaluate how faithfully that represent concepts within the Jewish tradition; however, I can say that I found them to be very thought provoking and enjoyable. Most Christian analysis of these books tend to focus on extracting understanding and support for the message presented about Jesus in their New Testament and in many cases have ignored how our cousins in faith have interpreted their own scriptures … and I think we have lost something there. Mostly, however, what I gained from these book is the idea that there are many different ways to interpret, understand and apply the ideals and concepts presented in scripture and they can all be useful for the spiritual pilgrim.

I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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