Bibliography: Texts
If you are seeking to build your personal Jewish library,
the following are the top books about Texts, as recommended by the editors of
MyJewishLearning.com. Click on any book's title to purchase it.
To go directly to a
specific category, click below:
General
Back
to the Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts, edited by Barry Holtz
(Simon & Schuster, 1984).
Learn
Hebrew Today: Alef-Bet for Adults, by Howard I. Bogot (Union of
American Hebrew Congregations, 1998).
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Bible: Primary Texts
TaNaKh:
A New Translation of the Holy Scriptures According to the Traditional Hebrew
Text (Jewish Publication Society).
Etz
Hayim Torah and Commentary, by David L. Liebe (Rabbinical Assembly,
2001).
The
Soncino Chumash, byArthur
Cohen (Soncino Press, 1947).
The
Five Books of Moses, Everett Fox (Schocken, 1995).
Bible: Studies and Guides
The
Way Into Torah, by Norman J.
Cohen (Jewish Lights, 2000).
Who
Wrote the Bible?, by Richard Eliot Friedman (Harper San Francisco,
1997).
The
Art of Biblical Narrative, by Robert Alter (Basic Books, 1983).
Studying
the Torah: A Guide to In-Depth Interpretation, by Avigdor Bonchek
(Jason Aronson, 1996).
A
Torah Commentary for Our Times, by Harvey Fields (Union of American
Hebrew Congregations, 1998).
Genesis:
The Beginning of Desire, by
Avivah Zornberg (Jewish Publication Society, 1996).
Exodus:
The Particulars of Rapture, by Avivah Zornberg (Doubleday, 2001).
The
Great Torah Commentators, by Avraham Yaakov Finkel (Jason Aronson,
1996).
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Liturgy: Primary Texts
Artscroll
Siddur: Nusach Sefard, by Nosson Scherman, Meir Zlotowitz (Mesorah
Publications Ltd, 1985). (Orthodox)
Gates
of Prayer: The New Union Prayerbook (Central Conference of American
Rabbis, 1975). (Reform)
Kol
HaNeshamah (Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, 1989).
(Reconstructionist)
Sim
Shalom: A Prayerbook for Shabbat, Festivals, and Weekdays, by Jules
Harlow (Rabbinical Assembly, 1985). (Conservative)
The
Book of Blessings, by Marcia Falk (Beacon Press, 1999).
Liturgy: Studies and Commentaries
To
Pray As a Jew: A Guide to the Prayer Book and the Synagogue Service, by
Hayim Halevy Donin (Basic Books, 1991).
My
People’s Prayer Book: Traditional Prayers, Modern Commentaries, by
Larry Hoffman (Jewish Lights, five volumes to date).
Entering
Jewish Prayer, by Reuven Hammer (Schocken, 1995).
Entering
the High Holy Days, by Reuven
Hammer (Jewish Publication Society, 1998).
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Talmud: Primary Texts and Anthologies
Swimming
in the Sea of Talmud, by Michael
Katz and Gershon Schwartz (Jewish Publication Society, 1998).
The
Talmud for Beginners, by Judith Z. Abrams (Jason Aronson, 1994).
The
Talmud: Selected Writings, by Ben Zion Bokser (Paulist, 1989).
Rabbinic
Stories, by Jeffrey L. Rubinstein (Paulist Press, 2002)
The
Kehati Mishnah, by Pinhas Kehati (Feldheim)
Talmud: Studies and Guides
Midrash,
Mishnah, Gemara, by David HaLivni (Harvard, 1986).
Mind
of the Talmud, by David Kraemer (Oxford).
Rereading
the Rabbis: A Woman’s Voice, by Judith Hauptman (Westview Press, 1999).
The
Essential Talmud, by Adin Steinsaltz (Basic Books, 1984).
The
Talmud: An Analytical Guide to its History and Teachings, by Dr. Isaac
Unterman (Bloch, 1985).
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Ancient Jewish Texts: Primary Texts
The Apocrypha,
by E.J. Goodspeed (Vintage Books, 1989).
Josephus:
Complete Works, by William Whiston (Hendrickson, 1987)
Works
of Philo, by C.D. Yonge (Hendrickson, 1993).
The
Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, by Geza Vermes, (Penguin, 1998).
Ancient Jewish Texts: Studies
The
Jews in the Greek Age, by Elias Bickerman (Harvard, 1998).
Texts
and Traditions, by Lawrence H. Schiffman (Ktav, 1995).
From
the Maccabees to the Mishnah, by Shaye J.D. Cohen (Westminster John
Knox Press, 1988).
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Midrash: Primary Texts and Anthologies
The
Classic Midrash: Tannaitic Commentaries on the Bible, by Reuven Hammer
(Paulist Press, 1995).
Searching
for Meaning in Midrash: Lessons for Everyday Living, by Michael Katz
and Gershon Schwartz (Jewish Publication Society, 2002).
Legends
of the Jews, by Louis Ginzberg (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998).
The
Book of Legends (Sefer Ha-Aggadah): Legends From the Talmud and Midrash,
by Hayim N. Bialik and Yehoshua H. Ravnitzky (Pantheon, 1991).
A
Midrash and a Maaseh, by Hanoch Teller (Feldheim, 1996).
Midrash: Studies
The
Midrash: An Introduction, by Jacob Neusner (Jason Aronson, 1994).
The
Aggadic Midrash Literature, by Hananel Mack (Jewish Lights, 1997).
From
Tradition to Commentary: Torah and Its Interpretation in the Midrash Sifre to
Deuteronomy, by Stephen Fraade (SUNY Press, 1991).
Reimagining
the Bible: The Storytelling of the Rabbis, by Howard Schwartz (Oxford
University Press, 1998)
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Halakhah (Jewish Law): Primary Texts
A
Maimonides Reader, by Isidore Twersky (Behrman House, 1972).
A
Guide to Jewish Religious Practice, by Isaac Klein (Jewish Theological
Seminary of America, 1988).
Concise
Book of Mitzvoth, by Chafetz Chaim, (translated by Charles Wengrov)
(Feldheim, 1990).
Horeb:
A Philosophy of Jewish Laws & Observances, by Samson Raphael Hirch
(translated by I. Grunfeld), (Soncino, 1997).
Evolving
Halakhah: A Progressive Approach to
Traditional Jewish Law, by Moshe Zemer (Jewish Lights, 1999).
Halakhah: Studies and Guides
A
Living Tree: The Roots and Growth of Jewish Law, by Moshe Zemer (SUNY
Press, 1988).
Jewish
Law: History, Sources, Principles,
by Menachem Elon (Jewish Publication Society, 1997).
Not
in Heaven: The Nature and Function of Halakha, by Eliezer Berkovits
(KTAV Publishing House, 1983).
An
Introduction to the History and Sources of Jewish Law, by N.S. Hecht,
et.al (Oxford, 1999).
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Ethics and Thought
Creating
An Ethical Jewish Life: Practical Intro to Classic Teachings on How to Be a
Jew, by Byron L. Sherwin and Seymour J. Cohen (Jewish Lights, 2001).
The
Book of Directions to the Duties of the Heart, by Bahya Ibn Pakuda
(Oxford University Press, 1988).
Lights
Along the Way: Timeless Lessons for Today from Mesillas, by Abraham J.
Twerski (Mesorah Publications Ltd. 1995).
Path
of The Just, by Moshe Hayyim Luzzatto (Feldheim, 1993)
The
Right and the Good: Halakhah and Human Relations, by Daniel Z. Feldman
(Jason Aronson, 1999).
To
Do Right and the Good: Jewish Approach to Modern Social Ethics, by Elliot Dorff (Jewish Publication
Society, 2002).
Godwrestling,
Round 2: Ancient Wisdom, Future Paths, by Arthur Waskow, (Jewish
Lights, 1998).
The
God I Believe In, by Joshua O. Haberman (Free Press, 1994).
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Mysticism and Hasidism
Thirteen
Petalled Rose: A Discourse on the Essence of Jewish Existence and Belief,
by Adin Steinsaltz (translated by Yehudah Hanegbi) (Basic Books, 1980).
Honey
from the Rock: An Introduction to Jewish Mysticism, by Lawrence Kushner
(Jewish Lights, 2000).
9
1/2 Mystics, by Herbert Weiner (Collier Books, 1997).
God
Is A Verb: Kabbalah and the Practice of Mystical Judaism, by David A.
Cooper (Riverhead Books, 1997).
An
Introduction to the Kabbalah, by Mosheh Halamish (SUNY Press, 1998).
To
Heal the Soul: The Spiritual Journal of a Chasidic Rebbe, by Kalonymus
K. Shapira (translated by Yehoshua Starrett) (Jason Aronson, 1995).
Tales
of the Hasidim, by Martin Buber (Schocken, 1991).
The
Religious Thought of Hasidism, by Norman Lamm (Yeshiva University
Press, 1999).
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