Gorgeous commentary.
Halevi shines new light on a very old story, offering a brilliant interpretation of perhaps the most influential piece of scripture ever written.
It’s said that when second-century Jewish rabbis envisioned heaven, they imagined a great table at which the blessed would sit, arguing over the possible meanings of torah–Jewish teaching–for all eternity. If this is paradise, Shira Halevi is well on her way. Her new tome is a targum–basically a hybrid of translation and commentary–of the opening chapters of Genesis. The allure of writing a targum for a comprehensive thinker like Halevi is evident: the format allows its creator to tease out all (or at least some) of the various meanings of the famously spare Hebrew scriptural text. Thus Halevi fills her elaborately footnoted expansion on the story of Adam and Eve (or Havah) with alternate translations, interpretive traditions, linguistic clarifications and explanatory dialogues. Among its many strengths, her targum is both devout and progressive. The author has an easy familiarity with modern biblical scholarship and willingness to parse stale orthodoxies. Her discussions of gender and theodicy are particularly piercing. Further, her innovative interpretations of this oldest of tales may provide new insights for even experienced readers. Nonetheless, it is clear from the intricacy of Halevi’s introduction–a long and detailed excursion into the technical differences between torah, targum, midrash and other forms of scripture and commentary–that the book will likely appeal to none but the most literate reader of Jewish texts. More casual observers will probably turn away when she writes of “medium[s] for polyvalency” and “triliteral consonantal roots.” But for those willing to immerse themselves in Torah–surely, Halevi’s ideal readers–Adam and Havah offers a myriad of joys.
Gorgeous commentary.Pub Date: March 30, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4414-9784-0
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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