Best hebrew bible books according to redditors
We found 18 Reddit comments discussing the best hebrew bible books. We ranked the 5 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 18 Reddit comments discussing the best hebrew bible books. We ranked the 5 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Just to start off, its shabbos in much of the world so you won't get so many responses for a bit.
​
Lots and lots of people grew up with some Jewish identity, didn't do much, and later became religious. Seriously, its a whole movement. Of course everyone's situation is unique, but you aren't the first to struggle with this kinda thing. Thankfully, that has meant a ton of books and resources for people in your shoes, who want to learn more and do more but didn't grow up with it. Some of the biggest resources online are Aish and Chabad, I just found NJOP but it doesn't have as much on the site.
​
Now, as you know, the first step is to find a synagogue. I'd recommend looking for a Chabad or a young adults organization like a Young Jewish Professionals type of thing. They will have lots of classes for people from all sorts of backgrounds and will be super happy to help you find good resources, to teach you, etc. Chabad especially is everywhere, the joke is that only Coca-Cola and Chabad are worldwide. Next weekend is actually The Shabbos Project, which brings together people from all sorts of background to do a shabbos in a community. Actually one of these helped me really finalize my decision to become religious. And there are people here from all over who can recommend places.
​
So there are lots of basic books out there. One thing I would definitely recommend is to get a Chumash, I'd recommend the Stone Edition since its the most common but the Steinsaltz one also came out recently. A Chumash has the whole Torah and the Haftorot (the section from the Prophets read in synagogues every shabbos) with commentaries. Both the ones I linked have stuff from all sorts of commentators that help explain the text. One section of Torah is read every week on shabbos, so it makes for a great reading guide.
​
A good beginner book is To Be a Jew by Rabbi Hayim HeLevy Dovin. That one is absolutely classic. He also has another one, To Pray as a Jew, that's also excellent. Rabbi Joseph Telushkin also has a great one, Jewish Literacy, that goes through everything from Bible stories and characters to Jewish historical figures and writings. R' Teluskhin has tons of good stuff, I also have his A Code of Jewish Ethics, Jewish Wisdom, and a daily study book The Book of Jewish Values, they are all great learning resources. I'd also recommend Exploring Jewish Tradition, it really gets to the basics of Jewish practices. The 'Jewish Book of Why' set is also good, there are two volumes. There's no need to dive full on into halacha (Jewish law) and like books on Talmud right away, take the basics and then explore what is interesting to you. People sometimes burn out if they try too much too quick, but others love to just jump in full on and learn a bunch really quick (I'm the second but know people in the first category, both are totally ok ways to be).
​
If there is any specific thing you would like to read more about, I can recommend more stuff after shabbos. Its only been a year since I decided to become religious so I know the position you are in. And if you have any questions, there are lots of great resources online and lots of knowledgeable people here. Of course, as I'm sure your mother can attest, there are unhealthy Jewish communities. But I firmly believe for every bad one there are far more great ones. I'm pretty new to it but the couple places I have been are both very welcoming and I have made friends from most of the major areas. It does not have to be suffocating, and there's nothing wrong with learning and doing more at your own pace. If its ever too much, slow down and reassess before jumping in further. If you listen to what your neshama (soul) is saying it'll guide you right!
The 4-source theory (or the Documentary Hypothesis) holds that Genesis (along with the rest of the Pentateuch [First 5 books of the Bible]) were written by 4 different authors, and later compiled into the book that we have.
The 4 sources are JEDP, J is the Jahwist, E is the Elohimist, D is the Deuteronomist, P is the Priestly Source.
I'm assuming you're writing about the flood narrative in Genesis, which is generally accepted to be a Jahwist text, thought to be written around 950 B.C.E.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_hypothesis
Use this to get legitimate sources.
There's also the traditional belief that Moses wrote the book of Genesis, which would place it at about 1250 B.C.E., but nobody really puts a whole lot of stock in that anymore.
Personally, I don't particularly buy the 4-source theory as it stands, as it seems to be an unnecessary explanation. It seems to me that the Pentateuch is a collection of Ancient Near Eastern myths compiled by one author, probably around 500 B.C.E. That's probably why you have some similarities with works like Gilgamesh and the Enuma Elish, because they all draw from the same oral traditions.
Anyways, I would look for sources on Wikipedia. Your best bet for good, solid information is on the documentary hypothesis. Let me know if you have any other questions, I'll see what i can do to help.
EDIT: Richard Friedman might be a good source. He has a few books that are accessible to the layperson. Particularly Who Wrote the Bible?.
I'd also recommend a few commentaries on Genesis. The best one I've read is the JPS Torah Commentary on Genesis by Dr. Nahum M. Sarna. It's got a lot of Hebrew stuff in it, but you can still get some good information about the Jewish interpretation of Genesis.
Good Luck.
I recommend the ArtScroll Stone Chumash. It's just the Five Books of Moses, but they are the most important ones. It has a really good English commentary anthologized from traditional sources.
To Be a Jew is always a good intro to general practice.
I also think an Artscroll Chumash does a pretty good job of explaining our inception, while getting your feet wet in the Torah.
The Artscroll Chumash (first 5 books of the Tanakh, a.k.a. the written Torah) /u/PM_ME_YOUR_TZITZIS mentioned is the gold standard of the Orthodox world. If you want a translation, and more importantly, a commentary with a traditional perspective get Artscroll.
On the other hand if you're looking for a more liberal / academic view check out Richard Elliot Friedman's Chumash. There might be better liberal / academic chumashim out there though, I'm really not sure.. maybe wait and see what others recommend in the way of liberal commentaries if that's what you're looking for.
Just want to emphasize that to understand Judaism you'll be infinitely better off with a Chumash (first 5 books with a commentary) than a Tanakh (first 5 + 19 additional books for a total of 24) without commentary.
Many Orthodox synagogues use the Stone Edition Chumash which is nice since it has lots of commentary. There is also a Stone edition Tanakh but with less commentary.
Do I look like a Rabbi to you?
https://www.amazon.com/Chumash-ArtScroll-Haftaros-Commentary-Anthologized/dp/0899060145
https://www.amazon.com/Be-Jew-Jewish-Observance-Contemporary/dp/0465086322
https://www.amazon.com/Jewish-Book-Second-volumes-slipcase/dp/0824603141
If you want to learn about Judaism from now backround go with ARtscrollhttps://www.amazon.com/Chumash-ArtScroll-Haftaros-Commentary-Anthologized/dp/0899060145/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 or Gutnick https://www.amazon.com/Chumash-Gutnick-All-one-Synagogue/dp/1934152013
If you're trying to read the Torah / other Jewish texts, you might get a 'Chumash.' On each page, there's about half a page [or less] of biblical text, and below that is half a page [or more] of rabbinical interpretation of [almost] every line.
I'm not sure. I guess the first step would be basic Jewish thought (theology, ethics, and basic principles), so I would recommend the same basic books I would recommend most Jewish adult beginning students:
I would also recommend a good basic, one volume translation and commentary on the Torah (i.e. the five books of Moses). My personal recommendation for you would be the the Hertz Pentateuch. However the the Artscroll Stone Chumash, and the Hirsch Pentateuch are also very good.
These ought to get you off to a solid start.
I have not. It appears that "The Lonely Man of Faith" is available for Kindle.
Sorry for the very late response to this. I don't have a definite source, it's more of an idea strung together from various other sources (the jumping off point is the midrash/aggada of Avraham destroying his father's idols as a little boy). It might be touched upon in Frameworks, but I haven't had a chance to verify.
Very good question and not one quickly answered. I would suggest the books "Theonomy in Christian Ethics", "The Institutes of Biblical Law", and "Tools of Dominion: The Case Laws of Exodus" for a Christian perspective that I think best answers the topic.
My Rabbi recommended me this version of the Torah if you want written explanations.
Seems like many have been recommending this
The Chumash: The Stone Edition, Full Size (ArtScroll) (English and Hebrew Edition) The Torah: Haftaros and Five Megillos with a Commentary Anthologized from the Rabbinic Writings https://www.amazon.com/dp/0899060145/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_.9KxzbP1NBRHJ
When I read this the most obvious thing was that it was just a Chumash, an Artscroll one or something. Clearly his mom didn't buy him a legitimate Torah scroll. This sounds like exactly the kind of thing a relative would gift to someone getting into Judaism.