The Torah For Dummies

by Arthur Kurzweil

An easy-to-understand introduction to Judaism's most sacred text The foundation of Hebrew and Jewish religion, thought, law, and society is the Torah-the parchment scroll containing the text of the Five Books of Moses that is located in every synagogue. This accessible guide explains the Torah in clear language, even to those who were not raised in the Jewish religious tradition. Christians who want to know more about the Jewish roots of Christianity need to understand the Torah, as do followers of Islamic tradition and those interested in the roots of Abrahamic faiths. The Torah For Dummies explains the history of the Torah, its structure and major principles, and how the Torah affects the daily lives of people who follow the Jewish way of life.

Genres: Judaism, Religion, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Judaica, Ebooks, Spirituality

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 3, 2007

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Arthur Kurzweil did a great job with this book. As he explains in chapter 14 the last commandment of the 613 is the duty of each Jewish person to write a Torah itself.... Kuerweilcertainly has achieved this commandment writing this book, very easy to read, very digestible, a big insight into the 5 Books of Moses and therefore into the Jewish life.
At this point I am finding myself in the situation that very few books actually make rise my eyebrows and my jaw drop, this book had this hability. I enjoyed every single page of it. Thank you Mr Kurzweil.

[Ana Rodrigues · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was actually reluctant to read this book, thinking it would be too basic, and very Christian-Secularly Oriented, but it is actually an excellent book. I wish I had come across it early in my conversion when I was trying and trying to learn how to pray and the significance of certain things. It is not a guide on how to become Jewish… or on how to do Teshuva… but it certainly is helpful and has a very very simple and yet good approach to initiating people to the Torah. A must for every Jew and non-Jew alike. I did really enjoy reading this book

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book confirms what I suspected. Trump is a sinner as well as a shmuck.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This seems like a quite reasonable intro to Jewish practices—the author does a very hard job, boiling down loads of detail and thinking into a clear and accessible text. It wouldn’t feel out of place, to me, as something to give a person interested in conversion.

It felt to me like the author himself is Orthodox, but he does seem to thoughtfully try to be egalitarian and nod to or explain non-Orthodox practices when they differ. A book like this might’ve benefited from someone in another stream collaborating on it. But I do think the author tries, and does a good job.

The author also wrote the very good Kabbalah for Dummies, and I wondered how much the influence of Kabbalah / Hasidism on him influenced what he stressed or how he described things, in this book.

[Deirdre E Siegel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of interesting informative fun for anyone who enjoys Theology, which I do.
My paternal forebears were / are Jewish in a very spiritual way.
Listening to The Torah reminded me that we were actually raised under generations of teaching and how quietly my grandfather and father instilled their beliefs, code of ethics, morals and love of God into us growing up.
After studying the architecture, catechism, canon, politics, rituals, scripture of the Catholicism I converted, while raising my Son in the Jewish faith.
The Torah written by Arthur Kurzweil was a brilliant childhood revisited with many answers to questions never asked, fascinating enough to gift my Son a Kindle version, Steven Jay Cohen’s eloquent narration was fabulous. Thank you gentleman, very much appreciated. :-)

[Céline FrenchAlps · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai décidé de lire ce livre après avoir lu les 5 premiers livres de l'Ancien Testament pour les Chrétiens, que l'on nomme Sefer Torah chez les Juifs, dans le but de me conforter dans ce que j'avais lu.
Cet ouvrage est une excellente introduction à la religion juive et, bien que n'étant pas novice en la matière, j'y ai appris beaucoup de choses.
A noter pour ceux qui semblent attendre beaucoup de ce livre (au vu des commentaires sur la page) que ce n'est pas un livre de commentaires sur la Torah. L'auteur cite 5 commentateurs des plus reconnus (anciens et modernes) si l'on souhaite "aller plus loin". Ce livre a pour but d'introduire la religion et la culture liée au Sefer Torah.

[Zechariah Barber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent for absolute beginners and maybe middle-high school students. No secrets revealed here.

[Barthelemy Jacques · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is rich with good informations. A wonderful genius book.

This book will make you 100 percent smarter. Don't jugde this book by its title! It really is for smart people.

[Barb Hegreberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Resource

It has became quite clear to me that God wants me to spend a considerable amount of time in the Old Testament this year; specifically in the Pentateuch (or Torah). Therefore I thought it prudent to get the Jewish perspective of the same.

This is the first “For Dummies” book I have ever read, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. The book is formated so that it can be read straight through or be used as a reference book. I’m sure that it will be very useful as I work through the Torah in 2022.

[Vansh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, by all means it was a good and educational book, written with love but I’m no Jew nor Abrahamic. The prophets of the desert just don’t resonate with me. I am grateful for the greater understanding I developed of the culture, religion and history of the Jewish people giving me more context for current world politics.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty straight forward

[vincent m maysee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its good to be a jew!

Very good read and narration. I was overwhelmed by the ma y obligations we jews have to G-d and each other.

[Tash · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot. However different perspective from Reform Judaism.

[Simcha York · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arthur Kurzweil's The Torah For Dummies is a fine example of an introductory text for a complex subject. It provides a range of substantial information, but does so in an organized and accessible manner that shouldn't overwhelm or confuse even those who are coming to the subject with no prior knowledge.

The book begins by introducing the Torah as text and then delves into the individual books that make up the Torah. It then moves on to a discussion of how the Torah continues to guide us in our everyday lives and a discussion of the role of Torah in Judaism, including its place within the larger structure of Oral Torah and the vast bodies of commentary that have accumulated around the Torah.

A discussion of the Ten Commandments as understood in Judaism is provided, as well as a look at what Kurzweil considers to be some of the most commonly misinterpreted passages in Torah.

This is an introductory text, and as such will primarily be useful to those seeking to learn the basics of Torah within Judaism or for those looking for a pedagogical resource for such students. It may also be of interest to non-Jews who wish to have a better understanding of how exactly different Judaism's understanding of Torah is from, say, Christianity's reading of their Old Testament.

[Magnus Itland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not Jewish, nor do I aspire to be. But many interesting people are, including a few of my friends. And I have known for a while that what we used to call the "Old Testament" looks somewhat different to those we got it from. After coming across some fascinating books by Rabbi Steinsaltz, I decided I needed some background information. Imagine my surprise when it turned out this book was actually written by one of Steinsaltz' students!

This is not a scholarly work, although I am sure the writer is highly competent. Rather, it is an easy-to-read confession of love for the foundation and backbone of the Jewish faith. The writer is clearly into the religion himself, but writes in such a non-judgmental way that even a gentile like me felt included and encouraged to make use of whatever I could find useful.

As an actual dummy as regards the Torah, I cannot imagine a better introduction. I am highly impressed. Easy to read, friendly, encouraging, informative, and full of life and light that rubs off on the receptive reader. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this would have been better titled Judaism for Dummies, as a large part of the book is devoted to Jewish practices and customs. I assume that the author would point out that all of these customs originate from the Torah, so it's still relevant. I picked this up as a companion to one of my current projects, which is to read the Bible (NKJV) cover to cover over the course of one year. As a result, I was hoping for more of a commentary on the Five Books. In its place, we get a summary of the plot of the books, explanations of Jewish rituals and practices, and direction to other resources, which I suppose is a more appropriate level of detail to expect from a For Dummies title.

[Rabbin Marc · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ne parle pas spécifiquement de la Torah mais du Judaïsme en général et uniquement sous l'angle de certaines sectes hassidiques, malgré l'utilisation d'un langage moderne.

[Gilda Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super interesting. Don't tell Rabbi Spiderman I'm reading it, though.

[Robert Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It might be better to title this book, "Sephardic Conservodox Kabbalism-lite for Dummies", but it's not half bad. Even, easy writing, in line with the series.

[Benjamin Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Refresher

This was an interesting refresher. A lot of which was hard to forget in the first place. Definitely recommend. Love it