The Torah: Portion-by-Portion by Rabbi Seymour Rossel 368 pages, paperback Torah Aura Productions http://www.torahaura.com/

Each chapter, covering a single portion of the Torah as read in the synagogue, features a wealth resources, including selections of Torah text in gender-sensitive translation; “Quotes to Remember” in Hebrew and English; a synopsis of the traditional Haftarah and the reason this prophetic reading was paired with the portion; interactive topical discussion questions; graphs, charts, maps, and photographs that illuminate archaeological finds and biblical criticism; wide-ranging comments from Talmud, Midrash, Rashi, and other traditional commentators—set side-by-side with comments from modern Bible scholars including Cassuto, Leibowitz, Peli, Bamberger, Plaut, and Friedman; and evidence from archaeology, linguistics, Egyptology, Assyriology, and a dozen other sciences that have been applied to the study of Torah over the last two-and-a-half centuries.

With The Torah: Portion-by-Portion liberal Jews—Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist—have immediate access to an interactive way of studying the Torah. The book can be read from cover to cover, or used as a resource in preparing talks about a particular Torah portion. As an introduction to Torah study, it bridges the gap between Bible stories and commentaries by scholars like Plaut, Sarna, and Tigay.

According to noted Bible scholar and lecturer, Rabbi Manuel Gold, this is “an extraordinary new commentary, accessible and understandable, clearly and concisely placing the Torah in the context of its time so that we can understand the world of its earliest readers. Rossel enriches our understanding by explaining to those who have not had previous contact with modern Jewish scholarship, and even to those who are familiar with it, the experience of analyzing the Torah. This will enable the student to understand and appreciate the aesthetic and the significance of the primary document of the Jewish people. Young readers and adults will find no better source for understanding the Torah than this.”

Dr. Pamela Gaber, Jewish educator and director of the archaeological digs at Idalion, says “Seymour Rossel’s The Torah: Portion-by-Portion will be hailed by educators the world over. We struggle with adult versions of the Torah portion for each week, adapting them as best we can ad hoc. No more! With the appearance of Rossel’s Chumash, teachers will be able to teach and discuss the sidra with authority. Particularly welcome is his inclusion of up-to-date information on archaeology and the documentary hypothesis, without which no new treatment of Torah can be considered complete. Col HaCavod!”

And noted rabbi and scholar Sheldon Zimmerman, states, “As always Rabbi Rossel draws on much challenging and insightful material for the teacher and student. He facilitates the ongoing dialogue with the text and the narrative that keeps alive for a new generation Torah as a living and dynamic conversation between the Eternal and the Jewish people. He never loses sight of the call of the Divine or our people’s response. At the same time he remains faithful to the very best of modern critical theory. This is a text that is loyal to history, Jewish destiny and the covenant.”