Here I provide a list of books on Torah. Each entry links to a website
to buy the book, but since there are multiple translations published
for each work, I just link to one or two of them.
First is a list of essentials. These are the fundamental books of
Judaism. The list is not exhaustive, but for the scope of my website, it is adequate.
Next, is a list of books that provide evidence of the divine origin of
the Written and Oral Torah. Anyone who questions my beliefs and is
serious about learning about the evidence with an open mind should
explore these books as well as look at the relavent links on my links
page.
The Essentials
Chumash
The 5 books of Moses. See my Torah page for a description of The
Torah. This is a link to the Artscroll edition of the Chumash, which
has a very good English translation, and commentary compilation. There
are many other translations and English
commentaries, but they are too numerous to list.
Nach
The rest of the Written Torah includes the books of the Prophets and
the books of Writings. The link goes to the Judaica Press edition. They
are very good and translate every Rashi, and have a commentary digest.
Artscroll also has a nice set on the first 6 books. Check it out here.
Tanach
This is the complete Hebrew Bible. It stands for Torah,
Neviim (Prophets), and Kisuvim (Writings). The link goes to the
Artscroll version, which has an excellent translation and a small but
useful commentary as well as many charts and graphics.
Mishnah
The Mishnah was the first ever written record of the Oral Torah
designed for wide spread publication. It is very terse, and the
explanations of several mishnayos have meanings that seem to contradict
the simple reading. The link goes to the Feldheim edition, which has a
very good translation, and the translated commentary of Kehati. The
Kehati explains the Mishnayos very clearly. Artscroll also has a very
good Mishna set here.
Talmud
Yerushalmi
The Yerushalmi was the first compilation of the
Rabbinic discourses explaining and elaborating on the Mishnayos. It was
compiled amidst intense persecution, and historically was not learned
over the years as much as the Bavi. As such, it often is very terse,
and has many scribal errors. The link goes to the brand new English
translation and explanation on the Yerushalmi. There are a series of
audio lectures which translates and learns through the entire
Yerushalmi, given by Rabbi Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer. Check those out here.
Talmud
Bavli
The Bavli is the compilation of the explanations and
elucidations on the Mishnayos, written by the Rabbis in Babylon. It has
been the cornerstone of Torah learning for Jews for the past 1500
years. It was the last universally accepted book among the Jews. All
later Halachic works had to conform to the opinions cited in the Bavli
(or Yerushalmi). The link goes to the incredibly good Artscroll
edition, which translates the whole Bavli and gives an explanation
primarily based on Rashi’s commentary. Before the Artscroll, the only
English edition was the Soncino, which has a more strictly literal
translation, and has less explanatory notes. Check it out here.
Midrash
The Midrashim are a wide collection of Rabbinic teachings that were
passed down and formulated throughout the generations about the Torah. There are many different kinds of Midrashim, some are
large stories, some are two-line comments that at first glance seem
meaningless. Some are very ancient, and some were written down after
the Talmud. The Midrash contains wild stories and cryptic remarks that
are meant to reveal secrets about the Torah to the learned reader. The
link goes to an English translation of the Midrash Rabbah. The Midrash
Tanchumah also has been translated, and can be found here. Artscroll is planning to do thier own translation of the Midrash Rabbah as well.
Rambam’s
Mishneh Torah
Not to be confused with the Mishnah, Rambam’s
Mishneh Torah is a Halachic overview of the entire Talmud. It is a
useful digest to cover all of Judaism. Although the way Rabbis have
decided the law over the years have sometimes gone contrary to the
Rambam, it is
nevertheless learned extensively as an aid to Talmud study and for an
overview of the law. The link goes to the only complete English edition
I know of.
Shulchan Aruch
This, like the Rambam is a collection of Halachah
gleaned from the Talmud and previous Halachic works. It differs in that
it does not cover those topics, which unfortunately are not relevant to
day-to-day life for the Jews presently (such as sacrifices, farming
laws, spiritual impurity laws, etc.) Along with the Ashkinazi comments
of the Rema, the Shulchan Aruch with its commentaries became the
accepted law book of the Jews. With only slight differences, all the
things Jews do are laid out in the Shulchan Aruch. As far as I know,
there are no complete English translations of the Shulchan Aruch. The
link and image are of the Kitzer Shulchan Aruch, which is a shortened
summery of the full Shulchan Aruch, according to ashkenazi custom. It
is
a very useful tool in learning Jewish law. The link goes to teh
Artscroll version which includes alternate rulings from the Mshnah
Berura and Rabbi Moshe Finstien Ztl. A previous english version of the
Kitzer can be found here.
Mishna
Berura
The Mishna Berura is a commentary/digest of Halachic
views and explanations on ¼ of the Shulchan Aruch. It deals with
everyday laws such as holidays, prayer, daily conduct, etc. It was
written by the Chofetz Chaim in the later 1800’s. It has almost been
universally accepted in America as the definitive work of Halachah to
guide Rabbis to make rulings. The link goes to the Feldheim edition,
which to my knowledge is the only English version available. It
has been discontinued, hopefully because of a planned republishing.
Evidence of the Divine Origin of the Written and Oral Torah
Although most of the relevant information about this topic are in
lectures, websites, articles, and
classes given around the world, there have been a few books published
on the issue.
Living up to the
Truth
This is by far the best of the lot. It is written by a
Rabbi in Ohr Somayach who has a PhD in Mathematical Logic, and taught
philosophy at John Hopkins University. This booklet is the most
intelligent, and honest defense of the Divine origin of the Torah out
there (as far as I know). It is highly recommended. It is also offered free in PDF format.
Permission
to Believe
This booklet deals with the belief in God. I don’t
think there are many people who truly don’t believe in God, but it is
always a good way for one to reinforce belief to read rational
arguments for God’s existence. In that light, this small book is very
useful and recommended.
Permission
to Receive
This booklet also deals with the divine origin of
the Torah. In my opinion, this book comes in as a close second to
Living up to the Truth. It is refreshingly intelligent, and readable.
It is highly recommended.
The
Kuzari
This is a very famous book which took the 12th-century sage, Rabbi
Yehudah HaLevi twenty years to complete. It is a question-and-answer
format of a dialogue between the 8th-century king of the Khazars and a
Rabbi. It covers many topics of Jewish thought including evidence of
the truth of the giving of the Torah. I have not yet read the book,
but it is highly recomended.
Beyond
a Reasonable Doubt
This book deals with belief in God, as well as the divine origin of the
Torah along with various other theological issues. It has its ups and
downs, some sections are not so great, while other sections are good.
If one has already read the books above and can sift the good from the
not-so-good in this book, then I recommend it.
Also, be sure to check out the links on this topic here.