The Five Books of Miriam [Hardcover]

Ellen Frankel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1996

Paralleling the Torah's traditional division, each section of a new biblical commentary is divided into a summary of the weekly reading and includes a response written from the female perspective and told through the voices of biblical women.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In this wonderfully imaginative book, Frankel (The Classic Tales, Aronson, 1995), the editor-in-chief of the Jewish Publication Society, presents a chorus of women's voices?from Miriam "the problem," Leah "the namer," Lilith "the rebel," and Eve to "our daughters" ("today's Jewish women and the women of the generations yet to come"), our mothers, and our bubbes ("those who have lived long and seen it all"). The voices speculate and give valuable historical background on the Five Books of Moses as they are presented in the normal order of synagogue readings. What a lively and revelatory exchange it is, and how refreshing it is to hear the points of view of the usually silent women of tradition and the Old Testament. Highly recommended for Judaica collections.?Marcia G. Welsh, Guilford Free Lib., Ct.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

One of the great contemporary knocks against the Bible is that it is filtered through a masculine lens--both the writings and the interpretations. Frankel attempts to remedy this situation by offering biblical commentary from a female perspective. Her framework is a bit gimmicky: she introduces her cast of characters, everyone from Lilith, the first woman, and Hager, the servant woman who bore Abraham's son and mothered the Arab nation, through various commentators, including ancient and contemporary rabbis. After each character or group states its point of view in the first person, the five books of Moses (here renamed Miriam) are presented in portions, as they are read weekly in Jewish houses of worship, and commented upon by the various characters. Important questions are asked, and thoughtful answers supplied from differing perspectives. Why did Abraham pretend Sarah was his sister and offer her to Pharaoh? Why are menstruating women considered unclean? Each portion is short enough so as not to overwhelm the reader, but the commentary gives plenty to think about and reminds us how fully human the people of the Bible were. An excellent addition to public library religion collections. Ilene Cooper

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 354 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (October 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399141952
• ISBN-13: 978-0399141959
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #942,241 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting, personal commentary with pleasure, December 20, 1997

By 

Richard Grant "[e-mail]" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Five Books Of Miriam: A Woman's Commentary on the Torah (Paperback)

As the title states this is a commentary from a woman's point of view. It is not a feminist manifesto. Although the author is knowledgeable this is not a traditional, learned Torah commentary. The author has created various female characters (named for biblical or other traditional women) to create her commentary as a form of dialogue, almost talmudic at times. The flavor is modern but there is little use of external texts. It is a very personnal work compared to more standard modern commentaries such as Plaut or JPS's own excellent 5 volume commentary. The text of the torah itself isn't included but there are summaries of each section.

The author's pleasure in writing this book comes through on every page. It can be a good source for a Bat Mitzvah girl who needs to do a dvar torah and is looking for some non standard ideas that won't be offensive to anyone who doesn't find a Bat Mitzvah itself offensive.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well done!!, November 12, 2003

By 

tzefirah "tzefirah" (Media, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Five Books Of Miriam: A Woman's Commentary on the Torah (Paperback)

I enjoyed every page of this book of commentary on the 5 books of Moses. I even tried the recipe for red lentils that was offered as the meal that Jacob might have fed to Esau in exchange for his father's birthright.

Ms. Frankel is a noted Jewish scholar, and this book should not be taken lightly, or as a pure exercise of fiction. She is trying to find the voices of Jewish women that were lost in history, whether sad, bitter, or even humorous.

Reading this book, which is broken out into the individual Torah portions, with encapsulations of the Biblical texts, was a wonderful treat. It not only gives its own differing perspectives, but encourages one to think for onesself, to go a different road if that's where your thoughts take you.

This book is well written and lots of fun. I recommend it to everyone with an interest in Torah (or Old Testament!) studies.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Challengs accepted rabbinc interpretations with insight., July 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Five Books Of Miriam: A Woman's Commentary on the Torah (Paperback)

I have read and re-read this book and find that each reading prompts me to return to different parts of the Tenach. These women invite me to look at different perspectives and make weekly portions review exciting. This work is not meant to be a Rashi commentary and shouldn't be selected as such