October 30th, 2009
Product Description
As he did so brilliantly in his bestselling book, jewish literacy,Joseph Teluslikin once again mines a subject of, Jewish history and religion so richly that his book becomes an inspiring companion and a fundamental reference. In Biblical Lileracy, Telushkin turns his attention to the Hebrew Bible (also known as the Old Testament), the most iniluential series of books in human history. Along with the Ten Commandments, the Bible’s most famous document, no piece of legislation ever enacted has influenced human behavior as much as the biblical injunction to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” No political tract has motivated human beings in so many diverse societies to fight for political freedom as the Exodus story of God’s liberation of the Israelite slaves–which shows that God intends that, ultimately, people be free.
The Bible’s influence, however, has conveyed as much through its narratives as its laws. Its timeless and moving tales about the human condition and man’s relationship to God have long shaped Jewish and Christian notions of morality, and continue to stir the conscience and imagination of believers and skeptics alike.
There is a universality in biblical stories:
The murder of Abel by his brother Cain is a profound tragedy of sibling jealousy and family love gone awry (see pages 11-14).
Abraham’,s challenge to God to save the lives of the evil people of Sodom is a fierce drama of man in confrontation with God, suggesting the human right to contend with the Almighty when it is feared He is acting unjustly (see pages 32-34).
Jacob’s, deception of his blind father, Isaac raises the timeless question: Do the ends justify the means when the fate of the world is at stake (see pages 46-55).
Encyclopedia in scope, but dynamic and original in its observations and organization, Biblical Lileracy makes available in one volume the Bible’s timeless stories of love, deceit, and the human condition; its most important laws and ideas; and an annotated listing of all 613 laws of the Torah for both layman and professional, there is no other reference work or interpretation of the Bible quite like this Stunning volume.
Biblical Literacy: The Most Important People, Events, and Ideas of the Hebrew Bible
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- Biblical Literacy: The Essential Bible Stories Everyone Needs to Know
- Everyday Biblical Literacy: The Essential Guide to Biblical Allusions in Art, Literature and Life
- Jewish Literacy Revised Ed: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History
- Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People and Its History
6 Comments
I was delighted to find this book in our library. I read it and found it enjoyable. Except for the defensiveness with which it approaches Christianity. It marks the split between Judaism and Christendom (which he calls a sect) in some obscure comment from Paul about circumcision. It also says that Christ, like any other “cult” leader ordered his disciples to -hate- their families. Not to mention the meandering ways in which it explains the prophecy of the virgin birth of Christ. In order to make Judaism and the Old testament look “better” than the New one, Rabbi Telushkin has fallen into unforgivable scholarly sloppiness. However, the book is commendable and worth reading because it doesn’t shy away from most religious dilemmas. Even when the explanations seem a little bit contrived, they follow a logic and a flexibility that is rarely seen in this sort of books.
Rating: 3 / 5
Rabbi Joseph Telushkin states his goals in the Introduction of BIBLICAL LITERACY. One of the major goals is to make people read the Old Testament themselves and in the process learn more about the relationship between family and human relationships to the Creator. His hope is to maintain the status of the Bible as “the most influential book of the next three thousand years.” So this large book is a type of commentary.
Throughout this book the author mixes in some interesting bits of trivia that often get easily passed over. An example is Sarah’s age at death being listed. She’s the only woman in the Bible that had that.
On page 53 in regards to symbolic irony for Jacob’s deception
“The man who deceived his blind father now finds himself deceived by his uncle during his hours of ‘blindness.” That’s referring to the switching of Leah for Rachel in the marriage tent.
A definition that was very helpful was that of an “oracle” contrasted to a warning.
There are a few topics where I disagree or am not convinced of Mr. Telushkin’s accuracy;
One obvious point is his interpretation of the Suffering Servant passage of Isaiah chapters 52 & 53. I see it as individual identity.
He addresses a controversial subject of polygamy and how it has been dealt with throughout Jewish culture and Jewish history.
I would have liked to see something solid about Jeremiah’s place of death.
I was expecting a lot more bias and doctrinal insertion in this book.
He’s actually quite unbiased on a number of subjects.
Page 513 provides a straightforward statement on the “613 Commandments”-
“The Jewish teaching that the Torah enumerates 613 commandments does not in fact appear anywhere in the Bible.” That number comes from the Talmud.
He gives a possible explanation on where the extra Jewish festivals come from.
Another interesting topic is the legal leniency and wranglings in the past relating to Sabbath years and debt collection.
While I don’t agree with some of his opinions, Mr. Telushkin deserves credit for highlighting aspects of the Bible that Christians and Jews alike can benefit from.
A strongpoint of this book is the sharing of Jewish history and teachings of the sages of Judaism’s past.
If his book directs readers to more study of the Old Testament, he accomplishes his objective.
BIBLICAL LITERACY is large book that is worthy of reading.
Rating: 3 / 5
Unless we look at the Jewish Biblical traditions, we will never know the full depth of the Hebrew Scripture [Old Testament]. Some of these essays will be familiar, but most will possess fascinating and different ways of interpreting these foundational stories. Christians began as a movement within Second Temple Judaism. We will have lost a great deal if we do not rediscover the wealth of our Jewish Biblical heritage.
Rating: 5 / 5
If you ever wondered what the Old Testament is all about, this book is for you. With all the respect to Christianity, there is nothing like going back to basics, which in this case means returning to the Jewish heritage and the essence of human experience. Highly recommended for anyone interested in the origin of our Western culture, ethics and the way of thinking in general.
Rating: 5 / 5
I’ve seen the Hebrew Bible explained by true believers of several kinds, or critics of various sorts. But never have I seen it examined with such open curiosity. With Rabbi Telushkin as a guide, I was struck as never before by the Bible’s painful honesty. It faithfully records the pain of inhumanity and the cost of each moral victory. But I seem to need an unblinking guide like Telushkin to really expose this.
The book takes three passes through the Hebrew Bible. First Telushkin highlights people and events. Then he explores the development of values and ideas. Third he details the rise of Jewish law through the Torah. I want to give quotes from two of these sections.
In examining Genesis 22, Telushkin considers how Isaac and Sarah felt about Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son:
“Does he [Isaac] have trouble trusting his father after this incident? Or trusting God?
And then there is Sarah. The woman has waited almost her entire life to have a child, and Isaac’s birth was her supreme joy. Yet her name is not mentioned once in this chapter. How does she react when she hears what happened? Do Abraham and Isaac tell her, or do they make a pact to keep the incident secret?
Again, we do not know, although the late Rabbi Abraham Chen points out a peculiar, seldom noted detail in the text. When Abraham returns from his trip, the Bible notes that he stays in Beersheva. Yet the second verse in the next chapter (Genesis 23:2) records that Sahah died in Kiryat Arba, and that Abraham came there to mourn for her. Although the text never explicitly says so, the implication is that Abraham and Sarah were living apart when she died. If so, did Sarah move away from him when she heard what Abraham had almost done?” (p. 41)
Concerning the development of values in the Bible story, we have this concerning the problem of theft:
“… The Bible’s primary concern, however, is with aiding the victim. The first demand it makes of a theif is that he return the stolen goods to the victim. In addition, the theif is to be punished with a hundred percent fine, payable to the victim, not the state (Exodus 22:3). … It is evident that biblical law is primarily concerned not with punishment of the thief, but with gaining restitution for the victim.” (p. 447-448)
Rating: 5 / 5
I agree strongly with one of the previous comments, that one of the signs of the Hebrew Bible’s authenticity is just how painfully honest it is. The faults of so many people are laid bare for all to see, even the thoughts of their heart. The Hebrew Bible was not written by people who only wanted to remember the good things they did, unlike other ancient literature.
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