Introductions, annotations, and a selection of handpicked digitized books for online reading. These titles were chosen to enhance the study of the ancient historical and cultural context of the Bible.
Midrash Rabbah is a homeletic, ethical, and moral commentary on the Torah expounded by the Rabbis during Talmudic times. The Midrash represents the essence of Judaism, its ethical standards, and its insight into the human heart in a unique literary form. For centuries the Midrash Rabbah commentaries nourished the Jewish...
Dr. David Flusser was a prolific scholar of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and his contributions to research in Jewish apocalypticism, and apocalyptic literature are considerable. With this English translation of many of his essays, Prof. Flusser's insights are now available to a wider audience than ever before. In...
One of the books I often recommend is "The Jewish Gospels" by Daniel Boyarin. A short but provocative book written by an eloquent and erudite professor who taught at Hebrew University, Yale, Harvard, Yeshiva University and now at Berkley. The book presents a cogent academic take on the...
Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer is an ancient Jewish commentary on various passages of the Torah. This book is attributed to Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, who lived in the 1st century CE. Yet most scholars do not see a direct connection between the contents of this volume and the early sage. Ascribing...
Shaye J. D. Cohen is a Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University. He is a well-known historian who also holds rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary. This book (link here) is one of my favorites. If you...
What happens at a synagogue service? What are the rules for keeping kosher? How do I light the Hanukah candles? What is in the Hebrew Bible? What do the Jewish holidays signify? I frequently get a lot of questions about Jewish culture and life, both ancient and modern, practical and...
Early on in my study of Hebrew literature, I discovered the works of Robert Alter. His focus on the literary features of ancient Hebrew and its unique poteism, its powerful semiotic nature captivated me. Then I ran across his English translations of the Torah and they have enhanced my study...
Amy-Jill Levine is well-known as the general editor for The Jewish Annotated New Testament. In this short book, she interweaves history and spiritual analysis to explore Jesus’ most popular teaching parables, exposing their misinterpretations and making them lively and relevant for modern readers. Jesus was a skilled storyteller and perceptive...
This extrabiblical Jewish book was written in Hebrew around 2 Century BCE. The work is also known as "Ecclesiasticus" and as "Wisdom of Yeshua son of Eleazar son of Sira". Original English translation by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton, 1851, edited and improved by Pinchas Shir....