Torah Through Time

October 15, 2007
The Hebrew Bible, or the Tanakh, is really not equivalent to the Christian Old Testament, yet many religious fundamentalists ignore this fact. Cherry (religion studies, emeritus, Vanderbilt Univ.) here provides a useful review of rabbinical tradition and teaching concerning the Torah, particularly the first five books of the Old Testament. Topics he covers include the history of Jewish biblical commentary, sibling rivalry (Cain and Abel), slavery, political intrigue, and inheritance laws. The section on slavery is particularly interesting in that it shows that the authors of the Bible accepted this social custom while, later, rabbis found ways of reinterpreting scripture and hence eliminating slavery from Jewish practice. Cherry claims his book "presents a Jewish model of combating fundamentalism with the Bible itself." That is, single, specific, literal interpretations of the Bible have not been characteristic of Jewish commentary. A helpful glossary of terms and an extensive bibliography round out the book. Recommended for large academic and public libraries.James A. Overbeck, Atlanta-Fulton P.L.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2007
The Torah is the first five books or sections of the Hebrew BibleGenesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomyand is a unique combination of narrative and law. Cherry begins with a chapter providing historical background and what he labels the theoretical framework through which our commentators view the Torah. Other chapters examine such topics as the creation of humanity; the story of Cain and Abel and the issues of Gods justice and human responsibility; the laws of Hebrew slavery; Korah, who led a rebellion in the wilderness against Moses and Aaron; and the five daughters of Zelophehad, who asked Moses permission to inherit their fathers property because there were no male heirs. Cherry has analyzed the biblical commentary of some of the renowned Jewish scholars of the last 2,000 years. The result is a work of excellent scholarship and imagination.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)