I thought that was a well written book that could be used as a resource in a religious course. I am not Jewish, but have always been curious about the Torah vs. the Bible, as well as the Israelites. I still have not completed the book but think the book is a great conversation tool. ( )

As a teacher of Jewish studies and Hebrew, I requested this book as another welcome addition to my educational library at home. I have read most of it, but since I am pretty familiar with the subject matter my primary intention here is to use this as a reference and an additional source during curriculum preparation. As with most books of the kind, the writing is thick and there always seems to be more information than the physical space of the book allows for, but all in all I consider the text to be presented in a pretty accessible manner. ( )

Theology books often suffer from a lack of clarity in their audience. While the core of the text is truly directed at a distinct audience who accepts the ideas of the authors there will be bound of major unstated premises and the occasional chapter of pseudo-doubt chock full of strawmen and non-sequitors ; ultimately detracting from the authors credibility. Shmuel Goldin in writing “Unlocking the Torah Text: An In-depth Journey into the weekly Parsha: Shmot” does not suffer from this flaw. One of the most admirable qualities of this text is that Goldin starts off the book clearly listing both his theological starting point, his underlying interpretive assumptions, and the nature of his schools of interpretation. Specifically, Goldin bases his interpretation on the following. First a “fundamental belief in the dive authorship of the text” is assumed. Second the belief that “The treasures of the Torah can only be uncovered when the narrative itself is seen as the truth, comprised of real even that happened to real people.” Third, in seeking to understanding the “unfolding narrative” that “no part of the text or its contents will be off-limits.” Additionally, he indicates that he will consider both Pshat and drash in interpreting the text. We are told that pshat is the “search for the literal, concrete meaning of the narrative.” Whereas, drash considers the writings of the rabbinic community and asks the questions “what are the rabbis trying to teach us?” Regardless of whether the reader agrees with Goldin’s assumptions or his understanding of these interpretive paradigms from the outset you can couch your reading in the understanding that this is how the author approached his interpretation of the Torah. Normally, the reader is left to guess at the assumptions of the author and is stuck with trying to piece the interpretive structure into a cohesive whole. The presence of this outline is a substantial gift to the readers.
The text itself is organized into 10 section that are then further broken down into four or five questions. Each sections provides a summary of the parsha and then each question has several answers and usually a section of additional “points to ponder.” I usually liked the format although sometimes the structure of multiple answers felt forced. The questions span the likes of: Why does God randomly threaten to kill Moses with no warning early in his journey ?, What is the nature of Pharoh’s free will?, Why des God send the Israelites the long way out of Egypt? or Does God condone the Israelites owning slaves? and so on. Generally, the questions are interesting and I believe of merit. Sometimes the questions are not so interesting. For instance: Does Moses’ father Yitro leave before or after the Revelation? Fortunately, the interesting questions outweigh the banal.
The greatest issue, for me, is that my personal assumptions on reading the Torah text are quite divergent from Goldins. So when he lists Rabbi after Rabbi trying to explain how a clear contradiction is resolved and he cannot consider the mythological aspects of the story I often find myself disappointed with presented interpretation. Worse is Rabbincal interpretation seems to invent characters and details out of nothing in the Torah and flesh out the stories with their imagination while treating this fleshing out as based firmly in historical truth. Perhaps, there is further basis for these claims that I am unaware of but it seemed that when the cited Rabbis make proclamations on history the expectation is that these statements are truthful and fully grounded. To my knowledge the types of details proffered are far from historically supported and so when they appear I find it difficult to trust their other interpretations.
“Unlocking the Torah Text: An In-depth Journey into the weekly Parsha: Shmot” provides a generally enjoyable weigh to approach the Torah and gain insight into Rabbincal interpretation. While certainly not for any audience those who share Goldins assumptions about the Torah will surely find much to help expand their understanding of the text. ( )

I'm not familiar with Jewish faith, in fact I'm polytheistic, so I didn't read it all the way through. But what chapters I did read were well organized, insightful, and multi-faceted. I enjoyed his explanations of context, including the political and religious climate at the time. I think anyone seriously studying the Torah would be deeply satisfied with the dedication and insight he instills in his faith. ( )

I approached this book as a Protestant who is interested in Jewish interpretation of the Bible. (I realize that I am _not_ the intented audience for this book. ) I found that it required at least an introductory knowledge of Jewish Biblical interpretation, but not a great deal. Some knowledge of Hebrew would be helpful but not neccessary--there was little untranslated Hebrew and you could usually figure out what is was by context. The list of sources at the back was very helpful. As a general commentary it was exemplary--clearly written, engaging and giving a wide variety of sources and views. The points to ponder provided a wealth of material for discussion. In other words, it was everything you might want in a commentary intented for a general audience. I would definitely recommend it to a Gentile who was interested in Jewish Biblical Interpretation. ( )