Synopses & Reviews
Song of Songs is a wondrous collection of love lyrics nestled in the heart of the Hebrew Bible—songs of passion and praise between a young maiden and her beloved. It is religious lyric par excellence. But what is its true meaning? Is it an expression of human love and passion, pure and simple? A celebration of the covenant between God and Israel? Or something else?
The latest volume in the Jewish Publication Societys highly acclaimed Bible Commentary series, Song of Songs provides a line-by-line commentary of the original Hebrew Bible text, complete with vocalization and cantillation marks, alongside the JPS English translation. Unique to this volume are four layers of commentary: the traditional PaRDeS of peshat (literal meaning), derash (midrashic and religious-traditional sense), remez (allegorical level), and sod (mystical and spiritual intimations). Michael Fishbane skillfully draws from them all to reveal the extraordinary range of interpretations and ideas perceived in this beloved biblical book. A comprehensive introduction, extensive endnotes, a full bibliography (traditional and modern), and additional explanatory materials are included to enhance the readers appreciation of the work.
This original, comprehensive commentary on the Song of Songs interprets historical, critical, and traditional sources drawn from the ancient Near East, the entire spectrum of Jewish sources and commentaries, and modern critical studies.
Review
“Ruth, the newest in The JPS Bible Commentary series, is a magnificent achievement. This commentary by Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Tikva Frymer-Kensky is an important addition to the extant scholarship on this biblical book.”—Jewish Book World
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"The JPS Bible Commentary: Ruth is a product of the contemporary world and gives voice to contemporary concerns."—David J. Zucker, Women in Judaism
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“For over three decades David Ellenson has shaped the life of world Jewry through the power of his scholarship, depth of vision, and kindness of soul. His uniqueness is that in his writings he searches not to hide or homogenize complexity but rather to study it, celebrate it, and enable it to challenge our preconceptions. This book is critical for all who want to know not only the foundations and struggles of modern Jewish life but, more important, the future direction it can take.”—Donniel Hartman, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute
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“From the gifted pen of Rabbi David Ellenson come lucid essays covering Zionism, religious pluralism, feminism, and equal rights that illuminate not only a lifetime of scholarship and activism but also the complex bonds that link Jews in the United States with their forebears in Europe and contemporaries in Israel. Each essay sparkles like a gem, with compelling grace and power.”—Deborah Dash Moore, Frankel Center for Judaic Studies, University of Michigan
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“Michael Fishbane, one of the most penetrating Bible scholars of our time, has surpassed himself in this magnificent study of The Song of Songs, combining scholarly erudition, poetic sensibility, theological depth, and an unmatched mastery of the history of interpretation of this most difficult yet lyrical testimony of love. A masterpiece of scholarship!”—Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, emeritus chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth.
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“Fishbanes commentary on ‘the great songbook of the Jewish soul is a tour de force. There is nothing like it for opening up the inner depths of the biblical dialogue of love.”—Bernard McGinn, Naomi Shenstone Donnelley Professor emeritus, Divinity School, University of Chicago
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"This volume is an excellent addition to academic Judaica collections."—Barbara M. Bibel, Jewish Book Council
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"Scholars and students of Jewish religious thought, ethics, and modern Jewish history will welcome this erudite collection by one of today's great Jewish leaders."—Jewish Media Review
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"This is an excellent collection of articles that any reader interested in the work of David Ellenson and the focus of his scholarship will surely appreciate."—David Tesler, Association of Jewish Libraries
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"A welcome addition to public and college library Judaic Studies shelves."—Midwest Book Review
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"This series is an indispensable resource, and Fishbane's new work is among the most rewarding entries."—Howard Freedman, jweekly.com
Synopsis
Thanks to these generous donors for making the publication of this book possible: Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence Deutsch.
The latest in the JPS Bible Commentary series, 2011 National Jewish Book Award Winner, Barbara Dobkin Award in Womens Studies
The moving story of Ruth, with its themes of loyalty, loving kindness (hesed), and redemption, is one of the great narratives of the Bible.
Socially, the Israelites were aware of their responsibility to protect the weak and unprotected among them. Redemption secures the life of the people as a community, not just as individuals. In this story, Boaz fills the familial obligation to marry the widow of a deceased relative who never was able to father children, both to continue the family line and protect an otherwise vulnerable woman.
The authors provide a critical, line-by-line commentary of the biblical text, presented in its original Hebrew, complete with vocalization and cantillation marks, as well as the 1985 JPS English translation. The extensive introduction places the book within its historical, literary, and critical context, discusses contemporary interpretations of the story of Ruth, and examines its major motifs and themes, among them: family, marriage and levirate marriage in biblical and ancient Israel, redemption and inheritance, hesed, and the books connection with the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.
Synopsis
Internationally recognized scholar David Ellenson shares twenty-three of his most representative essays, drawing on three decades of scholarship and demonstrating the consistency of the intellectual-religious interests that have animated him throughout his lifetime.
These essays center on a description and examination of the complex push and pull between Jewish tradition and Western culture. Ellenson addresses gender equality, womens rights, conversion, issues relating to who is a Jew, the future of the rabbinate, Jewish day schools, and other emerging trends in American Jewish life. As an outspoken advocate for a strong Israel that is faithful to the democratic and Jewish values that informed its founders, he also writes about religious tolerance and pluralism in the Jewish state.
The former president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, the primary seminary of the Reform movement, Ellenson is widely respected for his vision of advancing Jewish unity and of preparing leadership for a contemporary Judaism that balances tradition with the demands of a changing world.
Scholars and students of Jewish religious thought, ethics, and modern Jewish history will welcome this erudite collection by one of todays great Jewish leaders.
About the Author
Michael Fishbane is the Nathan Cummings Distinguished Service Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Chicago. He is the author and editor of numerous books, including The JPS Bible Commentary: Haftarot (2002); the National Jewish Book Award-winning Biblical Interpretation in Ancient Israel; and The Kiss of God: Spiritual and Mystical Death in Judaism. Fishbane received a lifetime achievement award for scholarship from the National Foundation of Jewish Culture and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.