Review of Unlocking the Torah Text in The Jewish Star

15 Apr 2010
OU Press

The Kosher Bookworm: Leviticus the Book

by Alan Jay Gerber

It stands proudly at the middle of the Chumash – the third of five volumes. It is the least historical; it is top-heavy with mitzvos dealing with sacrificial and ethical issues and widely considered to be the most difficult book of the Torah to translate and comment upon. Yet, commentators remain undaunted, and year after year new ones tackle the complicated issues found within Leviticus, better known as Vayikra.

“Unlocking The Torah Text — Vayikra” by Rabbi Shmuel Goldin (Gefen Publishing House, 2010) is the third volume in a series now co-sponsored by The Orthodox Union.This is not a simple book to read. With that said, let me also state that this sefer is a very valued addition to the works dealing with Vayikra. Each parsha is organized into three to five separate segments. These are then broken down into subsections dealing with context, questions, approaches, and points to ponder. The complex organization takes a while to get used to, but readers will soon see the value to this organizational madness.

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