Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary

Easy Torah to understand, commentary was helpful. Definitely a conservative lean

Etz Hayim is my preferred chumash among those using the "new" JPS English translation. The layout is well-planned so that a lengthy gloss doesn't run past the page that contains the verse(s) being explained. The essays by respected biblical scholars are useful for my own education as well as for teaching b'nai mitzvot students. i also use the maps, glossary and index to teach my students how to navigate the chumash and their own Jewish history.As a Conservative Jew, i find the links to halachah especially enlightening and useful for understanding the thinking behind the practice. i also make heavy use of the essays linking the week's parashah to the haftarah.i have used W. Gunther Plaut's chumash in a classroom setting as well, but feel it lacks a sense of spirituality. Rabbi Plaut spends far too much time linking bible stories to contemporaneous myths and legends. Etz Hayim manages to keep its focus on Judaism - after all, this is the Torah, not the Epic of Gilgamesh. In fact, our synagogue, which is nominally Reform but serves everyone, was ready to adopt Plaut's chumash (to replace Hertz) until i demonstrated that the commentary in Etz Hayim works beautifully for our participatory Torah discussions on Shabbat mornings.As well, it's a beautiful book and the layout is easy to follow for even the most casual user. It makes a good chumash for small group study, regardless of denomination. And Etz Hayim is what i give to Christian and Muslim friends who want to learn more about the Jewish bible.

Great product. The interior contents are unrivaled for an understanding of the beliefs of Conservative Judaism regarding written Torah. This book is essential learning for any Conservative Jew. My only complaint on my particular package is that the front lettering arrived with quite a lot of blemishes on the gold front’s gold lettering. However the sides and the rest of the physical book are in perfect condition, and the front’s appearance in no way alters the interior.

I wanted to buy this when it came out in hardcover in 2001, but it was too expensive. Now I have it and I'm glad I got it. What surprised me was how close it is to my understanding of the Bible, based on my 30+ years in Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF). Increasingly, I see that an approach based mainly on rational thought, as presented in Etz Hayim, seems to grow much closer to the intuitive perceptions of truth offered by gurus such as Paramahansa Yogananda and Sri Yukteswar, than older interpretations of the scriptures. Amazing! It really does seem that the more we know of the ancients' teachings, the more similar they all are - whether in the Middle East, India, or elsewhere. I would suggest that this might be evidence of a higher age in which wisdom was widespread - wisdom that is just now returning as we leave the dark ages. I notice that my current issue of Scientific American Mind has an article that argues that IQ for abstract thinking has increased from the 50-70 range in 1900 to the current 100 (using the current standards as the reference); others also have noted a huge increase in modern man's IQ - Goethe opined that men of prior ages were of limited intelligence - and he was writing about 250 years ago. It'll be interesting to see how the various wisdom traditions converge as the age progresses . . .

Book came exactly as described. It is in very good condition.

Want to understand what the Hebrew Bible is about in its own terms? Think you already know but would like a contemporary, literary translation with no dilution of emphasis? Then Etz Chayim is for you. The only drawback is the authors' occasional nod in accompanying commentaries (usually quite good) to today Conservative Judaism's politically correct theological gloss. But overall an excellent work which will repay your study of it many times over.

Etz Hayim is an excellent Torah resource. There are several reasons for this. A) English/Hebrew: The English and Hebrew transaltions are side by side and line by line. This makes it easier to do your own translating of the Hebrew text and compare it with the English translation provided. B) Two types of commentaries: Each page has two different types of commentaries underneath the Torah text. One commentary takes the text verse by verse. The other commentary gives a lot of background information and good exigetical information concerning the text. C) Essays: The essays are very good. Whether you agree with the points they are making or not, they give the reader much food for thought. Over all I have found the commentaries and essays very helpful and readable. D) The Torah is divided up into the parashot for each week. There are also special portions listed for holidays and special occaisions. After each weekly Torah portion htere is the Haftorah portion. This makes reading the entire parasha easy as it is all in one place.

The Etz Hayim Chumash has great commentary accompanying the fine JPS translation. But this "travel size" is extremely difficult to use for those of us with aging eyes. The commentary/notes are in a print size that not even my bifocals comfortably deal with. What I do not understand is why the full size Etz Hayim is unavailable except through the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly at Jewish Theological Seminary. It makes no sense. I would have purchased through their website were it not for the fact that they wanted to charge me an estimated $20 for shipping, which is absurd. Why such a major work is generally unavailable despite being in-print is hard to understand. But if you can find one, a full size (which, in addition to being easier on the eyes, contains scholarly essays that the travel size does not), it is definitely worth the effort.

It was what I expected. The writing is a bit small but it has the same as any hardback book. I found the price a bit high though.

Useful and interesting

Le format est parfait pour l'emporter partout. Les annotations et références sont très précieuses et l'approche pédagogique permet d'étudier la Torah avec soin. Félicitations aux concepteurs. Par contre il est en anglais. Il faut connaître cette langue pour en profiter.

A bit of a plod plot-wise but it's not like we don't know the story.More information in this volume than can be imagined with all the commentaries. Perhaps one day I will have time to get all the way through it, but it's been years already.