Customer Reviews

Chumash Stone Edition Travel Size (Artscroll Series) - Ashkenaz, Vol. 1

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellent Chumash but it must be made clear that it is a "beginners guide", a starting point to the Torah. If you only want one Chumash in your library then make this the one.

Being a convenient, easy to read, concise one volume Chumash, the author had no choice but to narrow his commentary. After all, you cannot fit the waters of the ocean into a bucket. One must understand that the commentary does not even scratch the service of inner meaning of the text. It is simply a minimum line or put in a positive way, a springboard to further study.

So I suppose it is only fair of me to suggest another Chumash that one can advance to. "The Call of the Torah" by Rabbi Elie Munk is a five-volume set also published by Artscroll. Rav Munk combines both the classic commentaries of Rash"i, Ramba"m, Ramba"n etc, the "peshat" of his teacher Rav Hirsh and also the more hidden Torah of Kabbalah. This as well as his own beautiful and intelligent ideas, adds up to a Chumash that is a must for all Jews that wish to delve just that little bit deeper.

I used to use the Hertz Chumash that is common in most Conservative and Orthodox synagogues. Now when I am in synagogue, I go looking for a Stone Chumash, which I find far superior to Hertz. Unfortunately, others do as well, and the supply is not yet up to the demand. Now I own my own.

Not only is the Stone Chumash an easy-to-read translation with fascinating commentaries, it also includes various tables and charts, such as geneology charts and timelines of events, and drawings of items in the Mishkan, which help give the Torah more meaning. For those who want more depth, the Hebrew text includes all of the traditional commentators in the margins.

In looking over the reviews of this uniformly excellent volume, I find that there is some misinformation which should be corrected for the sake of potential buyers.

The idea that this translation is "biased" toward Rashi is, frankly, laughable.

Where is the evidence for this claim? In the admittedly "extensive and well-researched commentary"?

Glancing over the commentary from last week's parsha (Vayigash) I find citations from the following sources among others: Ibn Ezra; Rambam; R. Avraham ben HaRambam; Ramban; R. Hirsch; R. Menachem Mendel of Kotzk; R. Bachya; R. Shlomo Ashtruc; Sforno; the Chafetz Chaim; R. Munk; R. Yosef Dov Solovetchik; R. Yaakov Kamenetzky; R. David Feinstein (not to mention the Zohar and other traditional texts cited by title rather than by author). Even this is not a complete list, and it is just silly to say that the commentary is "not reflective of the variety that is present within the tradition of rabbinic Judaism."

Nor would it even be correct to say that Rashi's interpretation is given precedence over others' (as would be expected if the translation were controlled by his commentaries). At 45:1, for example, the commentary cites three interpretations, one each from Rashi, Rashbam, and Ramban, without attempting to adjudicate between them. At 46:15 the commentary cites Rashi, then Ibn Ezra's contrary reading, then Ramban's disagreement with Ibn Ezra. And so forth.

Of course Rashi is cited fairly often, as are other solidly tradition-based writers who have written extensive commentaries on the text (i.e., those who are said to be "acceptable [from] a Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) point of view," to those whom our friend regards as "religious extremists"). Why this should be an occasion for surprise or alarm, let alone an indication that something is amiss with the _translation_ in this edition of the Chumash, is more than I can fathom.

Nor is any other evidence offered that Rashi's interpretations have colored or biased the translation itself. And such evidence is very much needed, if only to establish the credibility of the one mounting the claim in question. To put it bluntly, anyone who levels such a charge had better be a highly competent reader of Hebrew himself.

I must therefore suspect that the problem here is with traditional translation and commentary in general. It is exceedingly odd to describe straightforward Orthodox Judaism as "fundamentalism" -- a term much more descriptive of the various "liberal" movements which derisively tagged traditional Judaism as "Orthodoxy" in the first place.

At any rate, such comments do tell the customer something important: this volume is faithful to Torah-based Jewish tradition in a way that even the most conservative "liberal" Jews will find uncomfortable. In other words, if you want to study Torah, this Chumash is just exactly the edition you need.

The Stone Edition Chumash includes the Hebrew text of the Pentateuch (the Torah), Onkelos's Aramaic translation and an English translation, commentary, charts, Haftaroth, Megilloth and other relevant synagogue readings.
The Hebrew text is clearly pointed and easy to read, beside it is Onkelos's translation, beneath it is Rashi's (Rabbi Shlomo Yitschaki's, 11th c.) commentary (in Hebrew, "Rashi" script). On the opposite page is the English translation and commentary. The translation is accurate, modern, clear and mellifluous. Marginal notes here introduce, summarise and set the context. The English commentary is quite extensive, inspiring and captivating, and carefully selecting from and integrating the classical medieval commentaries of Rashi, the Ramban and Ibn Ezra, among others, and many, many modern, Orthodox sages. The word of God is the concern here, and its illumination is pure and profound.
The book is also aesthetically beautiful in every respect.
This edition is, in my opinion, the best single volume translation of and commentary on the Torah available.

Handsome edition, with lucid contemporary translation. This is fast becoming the most popular English-language Chumash for synagogue and home use, and it's easy to see why.

With illustrations, cross-references, and haftorahs included in this nicely-bound single volume, it's a thrill to see a work of this quality available...

This makes a fine bar/bat mitzvah gift, or even a wedding present, as it's an essential addition to any Jewish home (even one that has another Chumash/Bible already).

As well, for non-Jews studying the Torah in the original or seeking an introduction to Jewish interpretive tradition, there are plenty of commentaries, illustrations and footnotes to make your study a meaningful experience.

First, I would like to say that I received this item sooner than anticipated, which was my first surprise. Second, upon opening the package I find my books are truly beautiful. The embossed front cover is a wonderful work of art. The paper is of a fine quality, and the print is easy to read, both in Hebrew as well as in English. The commentary is astounding in its insights and quality. I would highly recommend this treasure to any who was asking for the word's of Hashem in English as well as in His Holy language.

This chumash is absolutely magnificent. First, the translation is wonderful; clear and easy to read. There hasn't been a passage yet that I couldn't figure out what it was trying to say.

Beyond that, the commentary is wonderful too. For example, it notes for Genesis 3:4 that Adam, when he told Eve of G-d's prohibition on the Tree of Life, added to G-d's prohibition words that G-d did not speak. Adam told Eve that touching the tree would kill her, though G-d never said this. Thus, the commentary says that perhaps the snake pushed Eve against the tree, and when Eve did not die, the snake convinced her that if that one part of the prohibition was false, then the whole prohibition was false.

For Genesis 6:1-2,4, it notes two possible interpretations for the sons of G-d taking wives from daughters of men. It says that sons of G-d could mean righteous, G-d fearing men, and daughters of men are less spiritually upright people. Thus, the spiritually high people debased themselves by marrying less spiritual people, thus consigning them to the same fates. It also notes that Eloh-m is used, the rulership aspect of G-d, so perhaps sons of G-d means rulers and kings and daughters of men means ordinary (common) women. Therefore, it means rulers forcefully took commoners as wives, thus showing that before the Flood, the powerful had begun to subjigate and abuse the weak.

Many are troubled by Exodus 21:2-6, which says that if a Jewish slave is given a wife while he is a slave, once he is freed, he must either leave his wife or, if he wants to stay with his wife, he must remain a slave forever. To many, this doesn't seem very moral. However, the commentary very effectively sheds light on this passage. It notes that Leviticus 25:39 says that a Jew who sells himself into slavery to pay off his debts is to be regarded as an indentured laborer, not a slave. The only other way to be sold into anything like slavery is steal something and not be able to make restitution. Thus, Exodus 21:2-6 is speaking of a thief, not of a poor impoverished misfortunate laborerer who sold himself to pay off his debts. Second, it notes that the passage speaks of a women OWNED by the master being given as a wife to the slave. If the master OWNS the women, she is not an Israelite/Jew. Therefore, she is a gentile slave, probably a descendent of a prisoner of war. Therefore, Exodus 21:2-6, when it says a slave must either leave his wife or remain a slave forever, is really speaking a thief who was graciously given a wife (if you ask me, he doesn't deserve a wife) who was probably a descendent of a prisoner of war who was graciously enslaved rather than killed. The passage sure seems far more moral, doesn't it?

As can be seen, this commentary is terrific for illuminating confusing and troubling passages in the Torah. Even passages that seem straightforward and easy to understand often have a great deal more to be learned from this commentary. Though this commentary may be too "pious" or "fundamentalist" for some, most of the commentary deals with straightforward meanings, and as often multiple interpretations are given, there is nothing to stop one from picking choosing what to believe from among the interpretations given. I recommend it to all.

This edition tries to condense as much of the basic wisdom of the Jewish tradition about the Tenakh into a single volume. It does a splendid job at that, with a translation of everything from the Bible one would need for liturgical use (Torah, Haftarot, Megillot) and a good starting commentary on the Torah itself. However, it must be remembered that this book *is* a condensation. As such, the English text is very selective in what commentaries it chooses to include. As such, it presents a good, basic, down the line approach. Do not expect profound mysteris to abound in this volume. Also, for those who are not from a strictly observant, Orthodox background, the tone adopted in the volume can be at times a tad pompous and overbearing.

If you understand Hebrew/Aramaic, this is a great book that adds to the vocalised text of the Torah the commentary of Rashi and the Targum of Onkelos. If you don't understand Hebrew, this is a great point to start! One can quite comfortably learn the Hebrew of the Torah from this volume as it is a a side-by-side edition with two parallel languages which is helpful to develop your own language intuition.

The book guides the reader to understand just how much more there is to be learnt and that's a great thing. The fact that it presents a basic point of view is also great because too many people fail in their learning by ignoring the basics.

A great introduction into the Jewish understanding ot the Torah

this is a great chumash version.artscroll has the best in judaica[siddur.tanach.torah].the addition of onkelos[the full aramaic translation of torah's 5 books] is the best.the version also has the rashi commentary and other commentators from orthodox jewish sources.great book, get it.

This presentation of the Chumash was very well planned and printed. I have used it since it came out. The translation is clear and the sources cited are authoritative Rabbinic ones. Like all of the Artscroll publications, this is destined to become the standard in the English speaking world. An unexpected bonus is the appendix which clearly lists the Temple offerings which is remarkably detailed yet concise. I recommend that every English speaking Jewish household acquire a copy of this, regardless of what other publishers' are already owned. This is singular in its quality.