Stringing the Pearls: How to Read The Weekly Torah Portion

James S. Diamond, a consummate teacher of the Bible, provides a clear and simple (but not simplistic) method for reading and understanding the weekly Torah portions. This is a how-to book, not an interpretive one. It is not a commentary on each week’s reading, but rather an “instruction manual” on how each of us can read and interpret for ourselves the 54 Torah portions of the year. Diamond provides a set of structured guidelines to the readings, and then he leads us through one Torah portion from each of the five biblical books to give us examples of how we can continue the “stringing” process on our own. He concludes with a personal guide to recommended Bible commentaries so readers can engage in further study if they choose. Stringing the Pearls is intended for all who would like to reach a greater personal understanding of the Torah, no matter what their biblical knowledge. An invaluable resource for Jewish learners, this book will also be an important tool for rabbis and for Jewish educators.

JPS inadvertently failed to include Section 8 of Part V: Selected Books (following page 206) in James Diamond’s new book Stringing the Pearls. We apologize to our readers for any inconvenience that this has caused.

James S. Diamond teaches in the Program in Judaic Studies at Princeton University. He combines two personal and professional personae: a rabbi and an academic. Rabbi Diamond was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary, and he holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Indiana University in Bloomington. Adult Jewish learning has been a focal point throughout Diamond's career. In recent years, he has taught the Tanakh course in the Me'ah program, a two-year intensive adult Jewish learning program that is sponsored by the Hebrew College of Boston. Stringing the Pearls grew out of this Me'ah program course.