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The Hertz, Soncino, and Plaut commentaries are books familiar to anyone who sits in shul on a Saturday morning listening to the reading of the Torah. We slip those books out of their places in the pew and look to them to explain and elucidate the Torah portion. We have come to rely on them for adult Torah study as well as for children preparing for bar and bat mitzvah. I have no doubt that the new Conservative commentary, Etz Hayim, will soon be considered an indispensable and enlightening tool for the deepening of Torah knowledge. Each of the weekly portions is divided into peshat - the simple meaning of the text - and drash - the homiletic, spiritual, and often more probing meaning of the text. In some places there is a third piece - halakah l'ma-aseh - giving the reader a practical application of the text in ritual or legal terms. Those practical applications usually mirror traditional Jewish law unless they diverge from Conservative practice; such is noted, along with Ashkenazic and Sephardic differences. While the peshat is helpful, the drash commentary really shines. In addition to wonderful midrashic and talmudic offerings, the questions, concerns, and insights offered by drash editor Harold Kushner draw me in. They are scholarly and spiritual, astute and empathetic, providing worthy material to teach and quote for both beginners and advanced-level Torah study. I can imagine that a new generation of bar and bat mitzvah students will find that the material speaks to them as well. The commentary's Introduction promises a sensitivity to the roles of biblical women. I put the book to the test by turning to several portions. In Genesis, I looked at the verses that describe Eve eating the fruit of the tree; in Leviticus 12, I looked at the laws of menstruation; and then to the unfaithful woman (Sotah) of Numbers. I was not disappointed. These difficult portions are dealt with both unapologetically and unpatronizingly; large existential questions are posed and new insights of women are obvious. I would have hoped that other controversial issues, such as the homosexuality laws of Leviticus 18, received fuller treatment. The prohibition of men lying with men is somewhat glossed over, with a note in halakhah l'ma-aseh that "Conservative Movement resolutions call on congregations to welcome gay and lesbian congregants in all congregational activities." The actual text, however, is not tackled adequately. One senses a reluctance to fully discuss the text, which seems odd in light of other sections where issues are dealt with unambiguously - such as a beautiful and sensitive drash commentary that addresses the prohibition of disabled men from the priesthood in Leviticus 21. I was disappointed that the commentary did not use gender-inclusive language. Though the Introduction apologizes for the JPS translation that retains exclusively male language for God, the essays still use "man" for humanity. In this century a new commentary could have called for a new, gender-inclusive language, with no need for the old apologies. Many wonderful modern scholars are quoted throughout the Chumash. Though most of the scholars are understandably from the Conservative movement, with great names like Louis Finkelstein and Abraham Joshua Heschel, the commentary also includes Orthodox scholars like Rav Soloveitchik and Aviva Zornberg. I am left to wonder why great Reform scholars like Gunther Plaut are never quoted. This appears to be a strange and pointed exclusion, unworthy of a commentary meant to be used by a wide array of students and teachers. Each of the 41 essays at the back of the book is well worth reading; even the color maps and glossary are useful additions. The weekly haftarot are explicated with introductions that succinctly clarify their relationship to the weekly Torah portion, making Etz Hayim an even more "user-friendly" chumash for both congregant and student. Etz Hayim is an important addition to the growing library of modern Torah scholarship, one that will inevitably enrich the Jewish community and all who seek Torah wisdom. It was obviously a loving labor of the Conservative movement whose fruit will be shared and enjoyed by all. . Elyse Goldstein is Rabbinic Director of Kolel: The Adult Centre for Liberal Jewish Learning in Toronto. She is editor of The Women's Torah Commentary: New Insights from Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Torah Portions, and author of ReVisions: Seeing Torah through a Feminist Lens (Jewish Lights). (c)2004 Sh'ma. All rights reserved. The information contained in this article may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Sh'ma.
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