The Torah Encyclopedia of the Animal Kingdom

by Natan Slifkin

The renowned “Zoo Rabbi” has created a magnificently illustrated and thoroughly researched repository of information about the animals in Tanakh, the Talmud, and the vast corpus of Torah literature. This volume contains some thirty chapters covering everything from the fearsome to the furry—for example, lions, leopards, bears, hippopotami, hyraxes and hares.

Rabbi Slifkin combines Torah erudition with wide-ranging knowledge of zoology and natural history to explain an abundance of sources regarding the identity, laws, symbolism and significance of these animals in Jewish thought and observance.

The book is spectacular, with full color photographs on virtually every page. Stunning images of animals in their natural habitat make this large-format book as appropriate for the coffee table as for the library or classroom. With its engaging style and beautiful photography, The Torah Encyclopedia of the Animal Kingdom is sure to become the definitive resource on this topic.

Genres: Jewish

454 pages, Hardcover

First published May 21, 2015

About the author

Born in England, Rabbi Dr. Natan Slifkin spent many years of study at yeshivot in Jerusalem and received his rabbinic ordination from Ohr Somayach Institutions. He graduated from the Lander Institute in Jerusalem with an MA in Jewish Thought and Law, and completed a PhD in Jewish history at Bar-Ilan University, with a dissertation on rabbinic encounters with zoology. Rabbi Slifkin has published numerous works on the interface between Judaism and the natural world. He has also taught at several institutions and is a popular lecturer around the world. Rabbi Slifkin is the founder and director of The Biblical Museum of Natural History in Beit Shemesh, Israel, and he lives with his family in Ramat Beit Shemesh.