Stringing the Pearls: How to Read the Weekly Torah Portion: A Companion for Home and Synagogue »

The weekly Torah portion is arguably the most widely read and discussed of all Jewish texts. Each year Jews around the world complete the weekly cycle of Torah and then immediately begin again, constantly mining the text for new meanings and insights. And yet, though there is an abundance of books that offer interpretations of the 54 weekly portions, there are none that empower readers to make these interpretations themselves.

Stringing the Pearls gives us the tools we need to understand and analyze these Bible readings. Diamond, a master teacher, provides a range of strategies for approaching the text and presents a clear method for working through the weekly portion, for both the novice and advanced reader. Stringing the Pearls is a wonderful tool for anyone preparing a d'var Torah, participating in a Bible study group, or simply seeking to be a more confident and active reader of Torah.

About the Author:
James S. Diamond teaches in the Program in Judaic Studies at Princeton University. He was ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary and holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Indiana University in Bloomington

Suburban & Wayne Times

Stringing the Pearls... is intended for all who would like to reach a greater personal understanding of the Torah, no matter what their biblical knowledge.

Preface     xi
How to Read This Book     xv
A Note to the Christian Reader     xix
What Is What: Some Basic Terms     xxi
Preliminaries: What Are We Talking About?     1
Starting Points     2
The Weekly Torah Portion: What Is a Parashah?     9
What Is the Tanakh?     19
Bible and Torah: What Is the Difference?     25
Reading and Hearing     29
On Reading     30
Reading the Humash     40
On Hearing     42
Hearing the Humash     45
Some Major Approaches to Reading a Parashah     59
Modern Historical-Critical Approaches     62
Premodern Ahistorical Approaches     81
Existential Readings     100
How to Read a Weekly Torah Portion     105
Which Humash to Use?     107
Reading a Parashah: A Four-Step Process     113
What to Look for in a Parashah     120
The Fourth Step     126
Navigating the Parshiyot     130
Commentaries: A Concise Guide     179
Humash Commentaries     183
Other Historical-Critical Commentaries: The Anchor Bible Series     189
TheGreat Medieval Commentaries     191
Synthetic Commentaries     197
Midrash     199
Women's Commentaries     202
Web Resources     205
Afterthoughts     207
Notes     211
Works Cited     227
Index     231