It Takes Two to Torah: An Orthodox Rabbi and Reform Journalist Discuss and Debate Their Way Through the Five Books of Moses

by Abigail Pogrebin, Linzer Dov, Mayim Bialik (foreword)

For the first time, in a single volume, readers can take a tour of the entire Torah through the medium of one challenging, instructive, irreverent, animated conversation. Rabbi Dov Linzer, an Orthodox rabbi, and Abigail Pogrebin, a Reform journalist talk their way through the Five Books of Moses with candor, humor, emotion, personal revelation, and scholarship. 

 

Rabbi Linzer is President and Rabbinic Head of YCT Rabbinical School (a Modern Orthodox seminary,) and Abigail Pogrebin is a veteran journalist, author of “My Jewish 18 Holidays, One Wondering Jew” and former producer for “60 Minutes.” 

 

Dov is a renowned expert in Torah and Talmud, whose personal values run liberal and egalitarian, but who also has clear parameters about what is halachically correct and comfortable when it comes to Jewish law and tradition. Abby is our relatable every-Jew in America, deeply engaged in Jewish life, but less through strict observance and prayer as through study, reporting, synagogue, and community.  

 

This book is the product of two people literally meeting in the middle to bring us their most honest intellectual and relevant understanding of the Torah. Pogrebin and Linzer engaged in short dialogues on a podcast for Tablet Magazine, and they have now been collected and edited so that the full, fascinating exploration can be found in one place.

 

This book is a Torah conversation-starter for families on Shabbat, for religious school instructors with students of all ages, for individuals who have never found a way to read the entire Torah in bite-size, relatable nuggets, and for young clergy looking for some sermon ideas if they’re stuck! Most of all, it is a snapshot of what Torah study is meant to a real-time, candid, instructive, challenging exchange of responses to ancient text. “It Takes Two to Torah” is not just an education, it’s an invitation – to join the oldest Book Club in the world. 

Genres: Jewish, Judaism, Nonfiction

410 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 10, 2024

Reviews

[Lisa Feld · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are two amazing (and very different) Jewish thinkers, so it's lovely to see what emerges from their conversations with one another. This book was originally a podcast, Parsha in Progress, and transcribes their brief but lively discussions of each week's Torah portion. (If you want to create an audio book experience for yourself via the podcast, you will need to arrange the episodes in your queue by checking them against a list of the weekly parshas, because the podcast took two years and switched back and forth which parshas were covered in year one or year two.)

Each podcast episode was about 7-10 minutes, which translates to just a few pages per parsha, so DL and AP usually dive right into their discussion (the book format includes a few sentences of summarizing the Torah text to orient readers). It also means they're often just offering their opinions; sometimes they'll quote other Jewish thinkers, but the focus is mainly on seeing what emerges from their discussion.

This book is ideal for anyone who either wants to see how hevrusa (partner) learning works, or who misses doing that kind of learning with others and wants to sit in on a lively discussion between smart, passionate people.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

The strength of this dialogue, taken from a Tablet Magazine (online series of podcasts; a great site) ten-minute times fifty-two weeks parsha portion project, delivers its subtitle. It's a simply narrated and accessible approach for those new to Torah, in my estimation. Pogrebin and Rabbi Dov Linzer engage in casual discussions of serious matters, but the tone remains down-to-earth and grounded.

However, for those already familiar with these readings will likely be also cognizant of the reams of commentary from millennia on these venerable scriptural passages from the Five Books of Moses aka Pentateuch, I honestly don't predict there will be "whoa, never thought of that this way before" notes taken. The rabbi and the journalist pretty much go over what you'd expect, as in a short time slot, two people will basically resort to examining a few lines that pop out. You can't dig that deep. On the other hand, this is about the length of an interpretation, a "d'var," heard at Shabbas service.

There's nothing to fault in this outreach. The back-and-forth style which many nowadays prefer to hear rather than pore over on the page, intriguingly, fits how the Jewish people originally received the Torah. After all, it's to act out in daily life what one hears, so as to understand it and practice it, Of course, that shift remains mostly beyond the limits of this podcast-based foundation, but this book might encourage those once they finish this to take off the training wheels and move under one's locomotion, into increased study of these instructions which endure, provoke, and spark us.

The intro by Mayim Bialik is presumably to attract younger readers, and is perfunctory. All chapters are preceded by a paragraph summation of the main events and characters of the "parsha." I think for a boy or girl of that age of thirteen, or younger or older, this might be a welcome gift for that special day, and very fitting. The easygoing nature of the two interlocutors would appeal to those wary or unprepared for deeper dives. For those who want to leave the wading pool here, from a Modern Orthodox perspective, the Sefaria archive on the web, which includes Jonathan Sacks' adult-oriented, often neatly career-relevant, ten-volume endeavor over the past couple of decades.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the joys of Torah dialogue is to have someone suggest an idea about the text that had never occurred to you. Almost everyone has something to add from their personal or professional expertise and their lived experiences. Even someone who has never studied the biblical text before can offer interesting and challenging ways to understand its meaning because they don’t have the same preconceptions as those who are more learned. The idea that people of different backgrounds can challenge and inspire each other was behind the “Parsha in Progress” podcast sponsored by Tablet magazine, which features Rabbi Dov Linzer, an Orthodox rabbi, and author Abigail Pogrebin, a Reform Jew. Their dialogues were recorded and are now the source of a new book of Torah commentary, “It Takes Two to Torah: An Orthodox Rabbi and Reform Journalist Discuss and Debate Their Way Through the Five Books of Moses” (Fig Tree Books).
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/book...

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot from reading this book. Prior to buying it I heard the authors speak. They are very engaging, knowledgeable and have a cordial teasing banter that is entertaining. I didn’t think that easy banter translated that well to the written word but I quickly was able to see past that and to gain many insights. It’s a wonderful review of the five books of the Torah with many nuggets of wisdom.

[Abigail Sprinsky · Rating 2 out of 5]

They disagreed less than I thought they would, and I don’t feel like I got the reform vs. orthodox battle I was looking for. It felt like very surface level analysis. Also they didn’t connect it to modern issues as much as I hoped they would. It was nice to revisit the Torah in a condensed manner, but it felt like a chore to read.

[Jeffrey Handelman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard the authors speak at an event a few months ago, and was inspired by their dialog to pick up a copy and go through the book one parsha at a time. Very thoughtful discussions.

[Jacob Buchdahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!

[Sharron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really interesting and sometimes a bit frustrating. By necessity each parsha discussion was brief and only dealt with one aspect of the portion.