Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible Review

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(More customer reviews)The reviews of the first edition were glowing, and rightly so because this is a superb book. Tov is a world authority in his subject, and has the ability to explain his complex technical subject with great lucidity. This second edition is, however, almost a page for page reprint of the first edition and has only a few small revisions. This is disappointing, and we look forward to a more thoroughly revised third edition in the next few years. Anyone with a first edition need not bother with this one. However, everyone else with more than a beginner's interest in the subject should buy this book now.

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An accessible approach to critical evaluation of the Old Testament, this book includes a detailed discussion of the transmittal of the Bible during the period of the Second Temple as well as extensive information on textual and literary criticism, including the relevance of the historical context.

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The Torah For Dummies Review

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(More customer reviews)The Torah for Dummies is chock full of invaluable, meaningful, and fascinating information, answering questions I've had for years about what the Torah is, and what the Torah actually says. The book is presented in a comprehensible, organized and reader-friendly manner. It's divided into six sections. The first, called Torah 101, provides a clear overview of the basic and most important concepts in the Torah. Section 2 addresses each of the five books of Moses, describing the contents, the main ideas and the significance of each one. The third section teaches us how Torah relates to our everyday lives, offering an abundance of examples of how we are meant to use it as a manual for life. Section 4 talks about the importance of the Torah in Judaism and in Jewish tradition, elaborating on the Shabbat, the Jewish holidays, life cycles, traditions and symbols, as well as on the laws and reasons for kashrut. Section 5 discusses, in detail, the Ten Commandments and several common misconceptions people have, both about the commandments and about other quotes from the Torah. The last section, apart from offering a glossary of names and terms used in the Torah, includes a list of all 613 commandments (both the do's and don'ts), categorized according to subject. The book provides direct references to the Torah throughout, making it easy to find exactly where in the Torah a particular quote or idea can be found. The margins of the pages of Torah for Dummies contain occasional icons, or symbols, which call the reader's attention to particularly important concepts, misconceptions, or words of wisdom found in the Torah. My review cannot possibly do this book justice. It is simply a "must read for yourself" in order to appreciate this thorough and eloquent account of what the Torah is, and what it has to tell us.

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The 613th Commandment: An Analysis of the Mitzvah to Write a Sefer Torah (Derush Vechiddush) Review

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(More customer reviews)The 613th Commandment was an excellent book penetrating the questions of a scholarly, rabbinic mind. I'll admit I expected a book outlining all the rules governing the path to fulfilling the mitzvah of writing a Sefer Torah. Those rules were not expounded, but rather most of the questions one may ask directed towards the purpose and intentions, speed and accuracy, ownership and inclusion of fulfilling this mitzvah.
Rabbi Cohen starts each chapter with a thought, such as why there is no specfic blessing attached to the mitzvah of writing a Sefer Torah, and zigzags through rabbinic literature citing an explanation, an alternate explanation, a clearification, a redefinition, ecetera. The best part of the book is the opportunity to understand the process of rabbinic investigation to arrive at a halachic decision. Some of the ensuing lines of thought were predictable, but all were educational.
The most interesting chapter was 'Printing a Sefer Torah'. Rabbi Cohen investigated the possiblity of fulfilling the mitzvah by way of printing a Torah. He took the reader through the rabbinic decisions relating to the printing press when it first appeared in history, how it relates to the Torah, and he provided interesting references and stories.
This book was repetitive at times. I gave it 4-stars because it is not for everyone. It is more for someone who enjoys details, logic, and debate.

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A study of the commandment of each individual's responsibility to write a Torah.

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