Meir Tamari

I was really looking forward to this title considering how much I enjoyed "Unlocking the Torah Text Vayikra" also published by Gefen. However, I have found myself somewhat uninspired by these excursions into the weekly Haftarah. I continue to trudge through it because I do occasionally find an interesting and worthy insight here and there. I must also mention that this edition has numerous biblical citation errors wherein the weekly portion does not match the correct textual citation given. For instance, "Bo" (p82) the textual citation given is Jeremiah 45:13-28 when the correct citation should be chapter 46. "Tetzaveh" (p111) the textual citation given is Ezekiel 33:10-27 when the correct citation should be chapter 43. The citation is wrong with "Pekudei" (p127), "Vayikra" (p135), "Emor" (p169), and "Bechukotai" (p178) as well. Hopefully these citations can be corrected for future editions.… (meer)

The earliest American bestsellers were collections of sermons. Such collections continued to sell well until the third quarter of the XIXth century. In that tradition, Truths Desired By God collects drashot on the prophetic portions connected to each Torah portion.
Sometimes the connection between sedrah and haftarah is obvious: in Vayakel we get specifications for the Mishkan during the wanderings and I Kings' account of King Solomon building the First Temple; Chayei Sarah concerns itself with inheritances, I Kings opens with David settling the Succession.
In other weeks, the connection is murkier. In Vayeira angels – divine messengers – tell Sarah she will bear a son during her old age; the haftarah, taken from II Kings II-IX, describes Elisha's ministry in the Northern Kingdom, during which he saves a widow's two sons from debt slavery and promises a son to the Shunemite woman who had been kind to him. The incidents are superficially similar but the messages seem to differ.
And, of course, for the last seven weeks of the ritual year, the connection is nonexistent; those haftorot concern themselves with comfort and redemption as we look to the New Year.
Written from an Orthodox perspective, the insights are palatable to the Reform or Conservative consciousnesses.
I quibble, however, with his insistence that one's actions must be guided by G-d explicitly; at Sinai, we responded to the Theophony “Kol asher diber Adonai na'aseh v'nismah” “All the Lord has said we will do and we will hear.” [Exodus XXIV:7]. While the motivation for right action is important, it can not overshadow the performance of mitzvot itself. Preferentially, mindfulness accompanies performance but Judaism is about the doing. Or to quote a wise friend, “I don't care if you say you believe in fairies as long as you're feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and clothing the naked.”
More normatively, from Jeremiah's declaration the even the incense of Sheba had been rendered unacceptable because of the people's abominations (VI:20), through Amos's indictment that Israel sold the poor for a pair of shoes ( II: 6; Haftarah Vayeishev) to Micah's admonition to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with G-d (VI:8, Haftarah Balak), the prophetic message is consistent and clear: righteous deeds make ritual holy.
Accepting the Covenant does not require that the Jew surrender will nor intellect. Instead, Judaism demands full engagement of mind and strength to share in improving Creation. In the haftorot, the Jew can hear the Divine message; depsite Tamari's Orthodox emphasis, Truths Desired by God: An excursion into the weekly haftarah is a good tool to enter that dialogue with the Divine.… (meer)

While the last few decades have seen a wonderful outpouring of excellent English works on the Torah itself, there is very little available on the weekly Haftarah reading. Dr. Meir Tamari's new book, "Truths Desired by God", does an excellent job filling this gap. On each Haftara reading, Dr. Tamari has prepared a stimulating essay summarizing the major themes of the reading, how it relates to the Torah reading of the week, and presenting a wide range of commentaries taken from the full range of Jewish tradition. He cites major medieval authorities, such as Maimonides and Abarbanel, as well as more recent works, including chassidic commentaries, R' Samson Raphael Hirsch, and R' Kook. Dr. Tamari does not just compile sources for us; he also introduces us to the geographic, political, and economic realities of the periods in which the prophets functioned and helps us understand the broader implications of their words.

My only complaints on the book are the lack of an index (an index of verses and sources cited would be especially useful) and the fact that the table of contents does not inform us of the Scriptural source of each haftara. This means that if you are looking for his discussion of a particular Scriptural passage, you will need to consult another reference to find out which haftara it is in.

However, these are very minor complaints. Overall, "Truths Desired by God" is an excellent work that will be read with interest by any serious student or teacher of Scripture. Even experienced scholars will find these essays to be useful.… (meer)