The Pentateuch and Haftorahs: Hebrew Text English Translation and Commentary (Hebrew Edition) (Hardcover)

by J. H. Hertz (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Youve used it for years in synagoguenow take your own copy home. Popularly known as the Hertz Chumash, this classic Hebrew-English edition of the Five Books of Moses, with corresponding Haftorahs, is used in synagogues and classrooms throughout the English-speaking world. In this compact volume, the late Chief Rabbi of England, Rabbi Dr. Joseph Hertz, provides readers with a lucid exposition of the text and the spiritual and ethical teachings of the Torah, culled from a wide range of scholarly literature. It contains the full Hebrew text, line-by-line English translation, and the classic Hertz commentary. Complete with all the Haftorahs for holidays and special Sabbaths.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1067 pages
• Publisher: The Soncino Press; 2 edition (January 1, 1960)
• Language: English, Hebrew
• ISBN-10: 0900689218
• ISBN-13: 978-0900689215
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #50,740 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Helped Keep Me Jewish, July 23, 2000

By	Jonathan S. Mark "marjo_wycam" (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It is a tradition among the Jews that when one reads the Bible one should also read the commentaries of our ancestors as well. This masterpiece of Jewish commentary by the late Chief Rabbi of Great Britain J.H. Hertz incorporates not only the thoughts of Rabbi Hertz himself but also those of Rashi, Saadya and many other Jewish sages.

I have been picking this book up and browsing through it, or referring to it for a specific point, for almost thirty years. If you can only have a few books in your Jewish library this book ought to be one of them.

A further point. I, too, used to think that Hertz's commentary used Hertz's own translation of the Pentateuch, the Five Books of Moses. In fact, Hertz'z book uses the normative (in his day) 1917 Jewish Publication Society translation.

Hertz's approach is decidedly Orthodox, but you don't have to be Orthodox to appreciate this work, which I believe will be in print as long as there are Jews who speak English. And if you are thinking of a gift for a Bar/Bat Mitzvah or for Chanukah I can't think of a better choice than this one.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars clear, consise and meaningful, November 14, 1998

By A Customer

Hertz's translation of the text is accurate and easy to read. The explanations and interpretations of select words and passages offer clarification and deeper meaning, and make the text come alive. It should come as no surprise that the Hertz Chumash is a synagogue standard.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Condensed Torah Commentary, December 5, 2001

By	Saul ben-Hesed (Sugar Land, Texas, United States) - See all my reviews

The distilled wisdom of the ages in about 1000 pages - no one could do it better. I have read through this volume every year for several years and never cease to discover new insights. Recommended it for both Jewish and Christian students of the holy scriptures.