The Beast That Crouches at the Door: Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, and Beyond [Hardcover]

Rabbi David Fohrman (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 197 pages
• Publisher: Devora Publishing (October 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932687793
• ISBN-13: 978-1932687798
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #146,825 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rabbi David Fohrman lectures internationally on Biblical themes. He heads the Curriculum Initiative of the Areivim Philanthropic Group, and directs the Hoffberger Institute for Text Study. He currently resides in Woodmere, NY with his wife and children, where he also serves as resident scholar at the Young Israel of Woodmere.

Rabbi Fohrman's first book, The Beast that Crouches at the Door, was a finalist for the 2007 National Jewish Book Award. In earlier years, Rabbi Fohrman served as a senior editor and writer for ArtScroll's Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud, and taught Biblical themes at the Johns Hopkins University. His recorded lectures are available at rabbifohrman.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is Torah learning as it should be., December 16, 2007

By 

Boz (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Beast That Crouches at the Door: Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, and Beyond (Hardcover)

I cant praise the Rabbis intuitivness enough in peeling away the layers of context and subcontext in the book of Genesis. You think that having studied Rashi(considered to be the pre-eminent authority when it comes to Torah interpetation), and others such as Rambam, Malbim, Ramban and Ibn Ezra, and many modern Jewish theology including those with radical notions on what is happening in the text, that you have studied it all.
Well guess what? Close to forty years im studying and this Rabbi comes along and make mockery of all I thought I knew. I thought I asked all the possible questions on oxymorons, improbabilities, contradictions and sometimes plain incrdulousness at how the narratives unfold. Well I guess I wasnt all that smart having missed so many of the finer details of whats happening in the text expounded on by the Rabbi, but gosh he makes it look so, "why didnt I think of it" simple that I just have to kick myself. I look foreward to many more years of kicking myself if only the Rabbi will oblige us by putting more of his teachings put into print.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! This Book Makes the Bible Come Alive. Thank You Rabbi Fohrman!, November 6, 2007

By 

M. Newman "Torah Addict" (Great Neck, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Beast That Crouches at the Door: Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, and Beyond (Hardcover)

Rabbi Fohrman has been teaching a refreshing and insightful analysis of the Hebrew Bible now for years but his first published book brings it all together in a wonderfully cohesive and readable manner. He has an excellent point to make: the Hebrew Bible from the very beginning has much to teach us about ourselves today but only if you examine it carefully for all its messages. Rabbi Fohrman is a master teacher and his writing is always engaging--you have to keep turning the pages. I can't recommend this book highly enough for anyone interested in what God has to say to each and every one of us. Thank you, Rabbi Fohrman.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally.....the Truth, January 8, 2008

By 

AB - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Beast That Crouches at the Door: Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, and Beyond (Hardcover)

I want to point out one thing: This book is NOT only for jewish people. It is for anyone of any religion (or no religion) who is interested in the Bible or the Adam & Eve story. It is definitely also for people who made fun of the story and think it's just for kids - this book shows that by asking the most difficult questions in the Adam & Eve story, one actually comes to a true understanding of what the Bible is trying to tell us. ALL questions can and must be asked!!

Otherwise, I fully agree with the comments in the other reviews. This book is a very readable, yet deep and true-to-the-text analysis of the Adam&Eve/Cain&Abel stories. It's not some homiletic interpretation of the Bible but a very precise, critical, compelling analysis of what the Bible is really trying to tell us. ...and (while the author doesn't address this directly) this helps better understand mankind, the human condition, and...ourselves.