Overview

A Year with the Sages uniquely relates the Sages' understanding of each Torah portion to everyday life. The importance of these teachings cannot be overstated. The Sages, who lived during the period from the fifth century BCE to the fifth century CE, considered themselves to have inherited the oral teachings God transmitted to Moses, along with the mandate to interpret them to each subsequent generation. Just as the Torah and the entire Hebrew Bible are the foundations of Judaism, the Sages' teachings form the structures of Jewish belief and practice built on that foundation. Many of these teachings revolve around core concepts such as God's justice, God's love, Torah, Israel, humility, honesty, loving-kindness, reverence, prayer, and repentance. You are invited to spend a year with the inspiring ideas of the Sages through their reflections on the fifty-four weekly Torah portions and the eleven Jewish holidays. Quoting from the week's Torah portion, Rabbi Reuven Hammer presents a Torah commentary, selections from the Sages that chronicle their process of interpreting the text, a commentary that elucidates these concepts and their consequences, and a personal reflection that illumines the Sages' enduring wisdom for our era.

Full Product Details

Author:   Reuven Hammer
Publisher:   Jewish Publication Society
Imprint:   Jewish Publication Society
ISBN:  

9780827613119

ISBN 10:   0827613113
Pages:   384
Publication Date:   01 May 2019
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   To order  
Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     Introduction     1. Genesis (Bere’shit) Bere’shit: A Fence Too Tall     Noaḥ: Human Nature     Lekh Lekha: Making Souls     Va-yera’: Loving One Another     Ḥayyei Sarah: Sarah’s Tent     Toledot: The Voice of Jacob     Va-yetse’: The Place     Va-yishlaḥ: Jacob’s Dilemma     Va-yeshev: Joseph the Youth     Mikkets: The Dangers of Power     Va-yiggash: Learning with a Sage     Va-yeḥi: No Unworthy Children     2. Exodus (Shemot) Shemot: Where Was God?      Va-’era’: Steeped in Idolatry     Bo’: Divine Protection     Be-shallaḥ: A Surfeit of Prayer     Yitro: Diminishing the Image     Mishpatim: Mitzvot with Meaning     Terumah: Creating the Sanctuary     Tetsavveh: For Whom the Light Burns     Ki Tissa’: Sin and Reconciliation     Va-yak’hel: Enough Gold     Pekudei: A Symbol to the Nations of Forgiveness     3. Leviticus (Va-yikra’) Va-yikra’: Sacrifices Then and Now     Tsav: Concern for Our Welfare     Shemini: Alien Fire     Tazria’: Dealing with Impurity     Metsora’: Speaking Evil     ‘Aḥarei Mot: Attaining Atonement     Kedoshim: The Essence of Torah     ‘Emor: Am I a Barbarian?     Be-har: Do No Wrong     Be-ḥukkotai: The Hope     4. Numbers (Be-midbar) Be-midbar: Surviving the Wilderness     Naso’: Great Is Peace     Be-ha’alotekha: The Evil Tongue     Shelaḥ-Lekha: Fringe Benefits     Koraḥ: Controversies Proper and Improper     Ḥukkat: A Perplexing Law     Balak: The Ways of Peace     Pinḥas: Respecting Difference     Mattot: People before Wealth     Mase’ei: Defiling the Land     5. Deuteronomy (Devarim) Devarim: Words of Rebuke     Va-’etḥannan: The Grace of God     ‘Ekev: Searching for Truth     Re’eh: One Sanctuary for the One God     Shofetim: Justice for All     Ki Tetse’: Cruelty versus Kindness     Ki Tavo’: Coming to the Land     Nitsavim: Not in the Heavens     Va-yelekh: Caring for the Flock     Ha’azinu: Destruction, Vengeance, and Vindication     Ve-zo’t ha-berakhah: The Death of Moses     6. Holidays Rosh Hashanah: Sound the Shofar     Yom Kippur: Sending Our Sins Away     Sukkot: The Festival Par Excellence     Shemini Atzeret: Tarry a While     Simchat Torah: The Never-Ending Cycle     Hanukkah: Light versus Might     Purim: Why Not Bow Down?      Pesach: Festival of Freedom     Yom ha-Shoah: The Cry of the Lowly     Yom ha-Atzmaut: Land of Milk and Honey     Shavuot: The New Covenant     Selected Bibliography    

Reviews

Hammer has chosen his rabbinic texts wisely; his comments are both scholarly and contemporary and offer us meaningful life lessons. -Rabbi Vernon Kurtz, North Suburban Synagogue Beth El in Highland Park, Illinois, and author of Encountering Torah: Reflections on the Weekly Portion -- Rabbi Vernon Kurtz Hammer sheds insightful light on the meaning of Torah for both the rabbinic period and our time. -Rabbi Steven Reuben, senior rabbi emeritus of Kehillat Israel Reconstructionist Congregation in Pacific Palisades, California -- Rabbi Steven Reuben A Year with the Sages offers a learned, relevant, and eloquent reaction to each weekly Torah portion for the entire year. These essays are insightful in preparing for Bible study classes, for sermonic presentations, and for an ongoing rhythm of engagement with sacred texts. Rabbi Hammer's breadth of knowledge combines scholarship with current-day life wisdom. This is a worthy addition to both personal and communal Jewish libraries. -Rabbi Alan Silverstein, president of Mercaz Olami, past president of the International Rabbinical Assembly and of Masorti Olami -- Rabbi Alan Silverstein Reuven Hammer examines a portion of each week's Torah and holiday readings in a unique tripartite fashion-Explanation, Exposition of Sages, and Personal Reflections-offering us his in-depth knowledge of Torah, erudite mastery of Rabbinic sources, and enlightening reflections. The end result-A Year with the Sages-is a truly valuable contribution to us all. -Shalom M. Paul, professor emeritus in Bible studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem -- Shalom M. Paul Any publication by Rabbi Reuven Hammer is cause for celebration. His wisdom, warmth, and depth are treasures. A Year with the Sages is exceptional-the contemporary sage, Rabbi Hammer, guides us in walking the path of the ancient sages. -Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, American Jewish University -- Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson [Hammer's] writing is fresh and warm and is always food for thought and it is as if he is holding our hands and guiding us through the holy writings and we see ancient paths become new. His commentaries are in a tripartite fashion (explanation, exposition of Sages, and personal reflections) and they give us enlightenment and erudition. They are also learned, relevant, and eloquent and above all, insightful. -Amos Lassen, Reviews by Amos Lassen -- Amos Lassen * Reviews by Amos Lassen * A Year with the Sages is an ideal companion for readers looking to add a touch of scholarly inquiry to their weekly Torah study. It is perfect for those interested in a daily dose of Jewish thought, and is designed to delight the intellect and deepen understandings of Judaism throughout history. -Jessie Horness, Foreword Reviews -- Jessie Horness * Foreword Reviews * If you read Rabbi Hammer's book you will see, not only what the Text originally meant, and what the Sages read into and out of its worlds. You will also what the Torah can mean to us here and now. . . . I suggest that we accept Rabbi Hammer's invitation, and spend a year with him as he goes through the pshat, and then the words of the midrash, and then sees the Torah through his own eyes. -Rabbi Jack Riemer, Jewish Advocate -- Rabbi Jack Riemer * Jewish Advocate *

Hammer has chosen his rabbinic texts wisely; his comments are both scholarly and contemporary and offer us meaningful life lessons. -Rabbi Vernon Kurtz, North Suburban Synagogue Beth El in Highland Park, Illinois, and author of Encountering Torah: Reflections on the Weekly Portion -- Rabbi Vernon Kurtz Hammer sheds insightful light on the meaning of Torah for both the rabbinic period and our time. -Rabbi Steven Reuben, senior rabbi emeritus of Kehillat Israel Reconstructionist Congregation in Pacific Palisades, California -- Rabbi Steven Reuben A Year with the Sages offers a learned, relevant, and eloquent reaction to each weekly Torah portion for the entire year. These essays are insightful in preparing for Bible study classes, for sermonic presentations, and for an ongoing rhythm of engagement with sacred texts. Rabbi Hammer's breadth of knowledge combines scholarship with current-day life wisdom. This is a worthy addition to both personal and communal Jewish libraries. -Rabbi Alan Silverstein, president of Mercaz Olami, past president of the International Rabbinical Assembly and of Masorti Olami -- Rabbi Alan Silverstein Reuven Hammer examines a portion of each week's Torah and Holiday readings in a unique tripartite fashion-Explanation, Exposition of Sages, and Personal Reflections-offering us his in-depth knowledge of Torah, erudite mastery of Rabbinic sources, and enlightening reflections. The end result-A Year with the Sages-is a truly valuable contribution to us all. -Shalom M. Paul, professor emeritus in Bible studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem -- Shalom M. Paul Any publication by Rabbi Reuven Hammer is cause for celebration. His wisdom, warmth, and depth are treasures. A Year with the Sages is exceptional-the contemporary sage, Rabbi Hammer, guides us in walking the path of the ancient sages. -Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, American Jewish University -- Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson

Hammer has chosen his rabbinic texts wisely; his comments are both scholarly and contemporary and offer us meaningful life lessons. -Rabbi Vernon Kurtz, North Suburban Synagogue Beth El in Highland Park, Illinois, and author of Encountering Torah: Reflections on the Weekly Portion -- Rabbi Vernon Kurtz Hammer sheds insightful light on the meaning of Torah for both the rabbinic period and our time. -Rabbi Steven Reuben, senior rabbi emeritus of Kehillat Israel Reconstructionist Congregation in Pacific Palisades, California -- Rabbi Steven Reuben A Year with the Sages offers a learned, relevant, and eloquent reaction to each weekly Torah portion for the entire year. These essays are insightful in preparing for Bible study classes, for sermonic presentations, and for an ongoing rhythm of engagement with sacred texts. Rabbi Hammer's breadth of knowledge combines scholarship with current-day life wisdom. This is a worthy addition to both personal and communal Jewish libraries. -Rabbi Alan Silverstein, president of Mercaz Olami, past president of the International Rabbinical Assembly and of Masorti Olami -- Rabbi Alan Silverstein Reuven Hammer examines a portion of each week's Torah and holiday readings in a unique tripartite fashion-Explanation, Exposition of Sages, and Personal Reflections-offering us his in-depth knowledge of Torah, erudite mastery of Rabbinic sources, and enlightening reflections. The end result-A Year with the Sages-is a truly valuable contribution to us all. -Shalom M. Paul, professor emeritus in Bible studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem -- Shalom M. Paul Any publication by Rabbi Reuven Hammer is cause for celebration. His wisdom, warmth, and depth are treasures. A Year with the Sages is exceptional-the contemporary sage, Rabbi Hammer, guides us in walking the path of the ancient sages. -Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies, American Jewish University -- Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson

Author Information

Rabbi Reuven Hammer is a former dean of the Israel programs of the Jewish Theological Seminary in Jerusalem and a founding director of the Institute for Jewish Studies, today the Schechter Institute. He is the author of many books, including Entering the High Holy Days: A Complete Guide to the History, Prayers, and Themes (JPS, 2005); Sifre: A Taanaitic Commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy; and Akiva: Life, Legend, Legacy (JPS, 2015).   

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