[.ca] The Torah: A Modern Commentary (ISBN 0807408832)

the best:
If you are interested in the Torah then buy this book. There is no other biblical commentary that I can even compare with this one. The language is enlightening but not overpowering. It's scholarship is wonderful and not overdone for the everday folk who don't work in the field of biblical history. I've purchased a couple of other used Plaut books after buying this one - "The Rise of Reform Judaism", for example. All are terrific. Great gift for a bar or bat mitzvah.

not bad at all, but I like some others better:
I think the reviewer who wrote a long 3 star review in 1999 described the major strengths and weaknesses of this book: definitely more detailed than I expected, but insufficiently respectful of traditional interpretations. I think the Hertz Chumash and the Conservative Chumash (Etz Hayim) both strike a somewhat better balance between tradition and modern views. But I would like to point out one thing that this book does very well: Plaut goes out of his way to incorporate not just the views of today's commentators, but also views other than the most traditional Jewish views (at one extreme) and his own: for example, he uses 19th and early 20th century commentators more frequently than Etz Hayim, and (unlike Etz Hayim) occasionally takes passages from the Koran to show how the Muslim tradition addresses Torah laws and stories. On balance, I can't say this is my favorite Chumash- but nevertheless I am glad I spent a year using it.

The best Torah & Commentary for Reform Jews:
This is the best Reform Torah commentary I have seen. Great insights into the history and language of the Torah. Very readable - even for beginners. Contains both Hebrew and English, with notes about the English translation, and insights into the history and meaning of the text. The book is divided into the weekly Torah portions. Plaut does take a liberal viewpoint, which will not appeal those who accept the Torah as the literal word of God passed on to Moses at Sinai.

OUTSTANDING! And I just started to read the Torah.:
I have just started to read and study this GREAT book and it has opened up the bible, in ways that I have never thought of. Being raised in a strict pentecostal "HOLLY ROLLER Family" I was taught that the King James Version of the bible was "The Only Word of God." Now as I grow older and wiser, I know the TRUTH. I find the book hard to put down. A must for everyone, regardless of their religious and ethnical background.

Just Buy It:
This is an essential book on the shelf of every Jew. It is the most modern rendition, in Hebrew of the Torah with a side-by-side English translation. (For the record, the Torah is the first five books of the Bible, or the five books of Moses.) It is the definitive text of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the umbrella organization of Reform Jewish Congregations. Also included are notes on Hebrew interpetations and 'gleanings' or spiritual comments on the text. Further, detailed commentaries on such topics as geography are included at crucial points in the text. I cannot emphasize enough how much pleasure you will derive from having this book in your home. No modern person can achieve an understanding of the Bible without having this book with which to refer. Treat yourself and buy this book. You will never regret it.