Book Review: Torah Dialogues, by Hayyim Halpern
A guide for rabbis leading Torah study, working through every parashah and haftarah of the annual cycle by question and answer, with the responses drawn from Rambam, Rashi, Ramban, Nehama Leibowitz, both Talmuds and the Midrash, plus biographical sketches of everyone quoted. Notes especially what it does for Leviticus, a book that can be tedious and here takes on new garb.
TORAH DIALOGUES: QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES ON THE
WEEKLY PORTION AND HAFTARAH by Hayyim Halpern. Jerusalem,
Israel: Jewish Bible Association (POB 29002, Jerusalem, Israel) 2000. 208p. $20. Reviewed by Rabbi Bernard Zlotowitz
An excellent book has been published which can serve as a useful guide for Rabbis in leading such discussions and dialogues. Hayyim Halpern in his Torah
Dialogues takes us step by step through all the parashiyot and haftaroth of the annual cycle by means of questions and answers. His answers emanate out of his own insights or rely on the great Torah commentators of ancient, medieval and modern times; such as Rambam, Rashi, Ramban, Nehama Leibowitz to name out a few as well as on the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds and Midrash with their wealth of information. The book also has biographical sketches of the commentators quoted.
The author brings to life the Book of Leviticus which, to say the least, can be tedious. The third book of the Bible with its emphasis on sacrifices and the priestly cult takes on a new garb. I was intrigued with the questions Halpern raised and his responses.Torah Dialogues is a mix of eliciting discussion of Jewish values and practices and a serious inquiry into understanding the Torah and Haftorah. It has a wealth of information culled from hundreds of years of Rabbinic commentaries from ancient to modern times. This is a worthwhile book which should find its way into every Rabbi’s library.
Rabbi Bernard Zlotowitz
Senior Scholar, UAHC
Rabbi Bernard Zlotowitz is Senior Scholar at the UAHC.
Cite this article
Bernard Zlotowitz. "Book Review: Torah Dialogues, by Hayyim Halpern." Jewish Bible Quarterly 29, no. 2 (April – June 2001).
Bernard Zlotowitz. "Book Review: Torah Dialogues, by Hayyim Halpern." Jewish Bible Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 2, 2001.