Torah Through Time: Understanding Bible Commentary from the Rabbinic Period to Modern Times - Softcover

Shai Cherry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0827608489 ISBN 13: 9780827608481

Publisher: JEWISH PUBLICATON SOCIETY, 2007

Synopsis

Thanks to these generous donors for making the publication of this book possible: Kinney Zalesne and Scott Siff.

Every commentator, from the classical rabbi to the modern-day scholar, has brought his or her own worldview, with all of its assumptions, to bear on the reading of holy text. This relationship between the text itself and the reader's interpretation is the subject of Torah Through Time.

Shai Cherry traces the development of Jewish Bible commentary through three pivotal periods in Jewish history: the rabbinic, medieval, and modern periods. The result is a fascinating and accessible guide to how some of the world's leading Jewish commentators read the Bible.

Torah Through Time focuses on specific narrative sections of the Torah: the creation of humanity, the rivalry between Cain and Abel, Korah’s rebellion, the claim of the daughters of Zelophechad, and legal matters concerning Hebrew slavery. Cherry closely examines several different commentaries for each of these source texts, and in so doing he analyzes how each commentator resolves questions raised by the texts and asks if and how the commentator’s own historical frame of reference—his own time and place—contributes to the resolution. A chart at the end of each chapter provides a visual summary that helps the reader understand the many different elements at play.

About this title

From the Publisher:

Journey through two millennia of Bible commentary

From the Back Cover:

Torah Through Time

For centuries readers have wrestled with the Jewish Bible, struggling both to understand the text and make it relevant to their lives. In the process, Jewish scholars created an unbroken chain of conversation that continues to this day. This legacy of Bible commentary not only illuminates contemporary understanding of the Bible, it also offers a compelling record of how Jewish thought has evolved over the centuries. How have Jews understood the foundational stories of the Torah? What can this record of commentary teach us about the Bible, our past, and our own times?

Master teacher Shai Cherry explores these questions by systematically examining the biblical commentary of some of the greatest Jewish scholars of the last two millennia, asking how a person's worldview influences his or her reading of the Hebrew Bible. The creation of humanity and the rivalry between Cain and Abel are among the stories the author examines as he looks at how different minds approach the same text and produce startlingly different interpretations.

Shai Cherry holds a doctorate in Jewish Thought and Theology from Brandeis University. He served as the Mellon Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Vanderbilt University and he taught Jewish philosophy at the University of Judaism, Jewish biblical interpretation at the Academy for Jewish Religion, and Judaism and Darwinism at UCLA. He is currently completing his studies at the American Jewish University (formerly University of Judaism) for rabbinic ordination.

"Cherry's skill as an educator shines throughout this volume. Lucid and engaging ... this book should play a significant role in the renaissance of Jewish learning that is now taking place." --Marc Zvi Brettler, Dora Golding Professor of Biblical Studies, Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, Brandeis University and author of How to Read the Bible (JPS 2005)

"Torah Through Time is a delightful book written for all readers who... are fascinated by the on-going process of interpretation.... Cherry is a master teacher who explicates the process of Torah exegesis with clarity, ease, and even humor, making the texts ...accessible, relevant, and meaningful." --Dr. Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, Professor of History, Arizona State University and author of Happiness in Premodern Judaism: Virtue, Knowledge, and Well-Being.

About this edition

• Publisher: JEWISH PUBLICATON SOCIETY
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0827608489
• ISBN 13: 9780827608481
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208