This volume contains studies on the weekly Torah portion (parashah/sidrah) evoking the memorable and influential style of Nehama Leibowitz. Using lesser-known published works by Nehama and notes of her private lessons, Moshe Sokolow elucidates the text and its classic commentaries in a manner that engages readers, making them active participants in Torah study.

The "how-to" book for Torah study

In this second volume of his long-anticipated five-volume collection of parashat hashavua commentaries, Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks explores these intersections as they relate to universal concerns of freedom, love, responsibility, identity, and destiny. Chief Rabbi Sacks fuses Jewish tradition, Western philosophy, and literature to present a highly developed understanding of the human condition under Gods sovereignty. Erudite and eloquent, Covenant Conversation allows us to experience Chief Rabbi Sacks sophisticated approach to life lived in an ongoing dialogue with the Torah.

Believe in not just the ancient Word, but the Living Word. Reading a parasha--a weekly passage of scripture--will help you understand how God's words transcend time and speak to your life today down to exact details. Are you eager to hear God's prophetic voice through the scriptures? A parasha is a passage of scripture that is read every Sabbath day in every Jewish synagogue across the world according to the schedule provided for the year. By reading a weekly parasha, readers can know what is being pronounced prophetically on that very day. This book provides the full year of parasha readings--the complete scriptures from the Torah (the Pentateuch, of the first five books of the Bible)--the same passages read in synagogues according to Jewish tradition. Scriptures are provided in the Modern English Version (MEV) translation and David Morgan, one of the translators of the MEV, provides an introduction that will explain the significance of the parashas and how to get the most from reading them in this format.

The Person in the Parasha, Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb's compilation of essays based on his highly popular column of the same name, offers the unique point of view of a world-renowned Torah scholar, community rabbi, and clinical psychotherapist. Each essay begins with an interesting anecdote which the author then connects to a central theme in the parasha, and wraps up with a profound message of inspiration and wisdom for life and spiritual growth. The Person in the Parasha offers a creative and original look at each of the weekly Torah readings, addressing a wide spectrum of human emotions and topics - optimism, grief, integrity, bullying, conformity, envy, aging, parenting, and much more. In this work, Rabbi Weinreb brings the biblical personalities to life, focusing on what motivates them and how we can best emulate their positive traits in our own lives. Rabbi Weinreb offers guidance for daily life its challenges, struggles, and joys alike.

A Year with the Sages uniquely relates the Sages' understanding of each Torah portion to everyday life. The importance of these teachings cannot be overstated. The Sages, who lived during the period from the fifth century BCE to the fifth century CE, considered themselves to have inherited the oral teachings God transmitted to Moses, along with the mandate to interpret them to each subsequent generation. Just as the Torah and the entire Hebrew Bible are the foundations of Judaism, the Sages' teachings form the structures of Jewish belief and practice built on that foundation. Many of these teachings revolve around core concepts such as God's justice, God's love, Torah, Israel, humility, honesty, loving-kindness, reverence, prayer, and repentance. You are invited to spend a year with the inspiring ideas of the Sages through their reflections on the fifty-four weekly Torah portions and the eleven Jewish holidays. Quoting from the week's Torah portion, Rabbi Reuven Hammer presents a Torah commentary, selections from the Sages that chronicle their process of interpreting the text, a commentary that elucidates these concepts and their consequences, and a personal reflection that illumines the Sages' enduring wisdom for our era.

Unlocking the Torah Text provides an in-depth journey into the Torah portion through a series of studies on each parsha. Each study opens with a brief summary of the narrative and then presents probing questions designed to strike to the core of the text. These questions are addressed through a review of traditional commentaries spanning the ages, combined with original approaches. Deep philosophical issues and perplexing textual questions are carefully examined and discussed in clear and incisive fashion. The actions and motivations of the patriarchs, matriarchs and other biblical figures are probed with an eye towards determining the lessons to be learned from the lives of these great personalities. Clear distinction is made between pshat (straightforward literal meaning) and Midrash (rabbinical exegesis) as both of these approaches to biblical text are carefully defined and applied. Finally, thought-provoking connections are raised between the eternal Torah narrative and critical issues of our time. Each study is thus constructed to encourage continued discussion and study of the Torah narrative.

Parashah Themes in Historical Perspective is a two-volume collection of Rabbi Evan Hoffman's essays, arranged according to the annual Torah reading cycle. For each essay, a biblical verse or passage serves as the point of departure for an exploration of broader themes in the history of the Jewish people or the evolution of Jewish thought and practice. Classical rabbinic texts as well as external and non-canonical sources are examined in a spirit of free inquiry. The author seeks to understand the historical context in which the sages and early exegetes offered their respective interpretations. For the layman accustomed to exclusively traditional methods of interpretation, these essays offer entrée to the realm of academic Jewish studies. Scholars, too, will benefit from those essays in which the author breaks new ground. For anyone who has wondered how certain Jewish customs came to assume their current forms, or how other biblical rites ceased altogether to be operative in contemporary Judaism, this work will be of particular interest.