Windows To The Soul

by Michael Bernstein

"Delve in the Torah and continue to delve in it, for everything is in it ... you can have no better portion than it." So teaches the Talmudic sage Ben Bag Bag in Ethics of the Fathers (5:26). More easily said than done. One way to appreciate the infinite wisdom of the Torah is to see what thoughtful, inquisitive, perceptive people have unearthed in their inquiries. This is such a book. Rabbi Michael Bernstein, M.D. is a practicing child psychiatrist. His is a craft that teaches its practitioners to notice things that others overlook. In this book, he turns his skills to the Chumash and, like an explorer stripping away covers from ancient treasures, he reveals wisdom and insights that may well have escaped even lifelong students of the Torah. By combining his knowledge of Rabbinic literature and the classic commentaries with his understanding of people, the author shares new perspectives on the Torah. Always original, sometimes provocative, unusually stimulating, and unfailingly grounded in the timeless tradition of Torah classics, this book casts an exciting light on areas that may have seemed unremarkable to the casual student. This volume contains Rabbi BernsteinÆs observations on the Books of Bereishis/Genesis and Shemos/Exodus. In the tradition of the great Mussar thinkers, Rabbi Bernstein relates the narratives and Midrashim of the Chumash to human behavior and thereby enables his readers to subject themselves to the lessons of the Torah. The charm of this work is that it makes the reader think, reflect, and then say to himself, "Why didnÆt I think of that?" The title is Windows to the Soul. Indeed. This exceptional work will open many a window to many a soul -- and all the windows let in the light of the Torah.

Paperback

Published November 15, 2000

About the author

Michael Bernstein is the author of the chapbooks cinderbook (Gold Wake Press, 2009), the rot to light (Gold Wake Press, 2010), 8s (Scantily Clad Press, forthcoming 2010), imaginary grace (Recycled Karma Press, 2010), from “a heap of swords and mirrors” (Bedouin Books, forthcoming 2010), the transit illuminate (mud luscious press, 2010), nanostars (greying ghost press, forthcoming 2010), the Fire District (Differentia Press, 2010), Well (Splitleaves Press, 2010), and death ray (Minutes Books, forthcoming). His poems have appeared in magazines such as New American Writing, Puppy Flowers, milk, Moria, BlazeVOX, Columbia Poetry Review, Conundrum, Ink Node, swap/concessions, 13myna birds, Unscroll, Cannot Exist, A Trunk of Delirium, The Bathroom, The Balloon, Monkey Puzzle, Phraseology, and Pinstripe Fedora. He currently co-edits the online literary arts magazine Pinstripe Fedora, has appeared as a featured reader in numerous U.S. cities, has had his work featured on NPR's "Chicago Amplified" program, and has written book reviews for Gently Read Literature and Tarpaulin Sky. Michael lives and writes in Cleveland Heights, OH.