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

Rabbi Linzer and journalist Pogrebin (My Jewish Year) discuss 52 weekly readings of the Torah in this intellectually lively adaptation of their Parsha in Progress podcast. Aiming to step outside their “echo chambers,” the authors draw fresh insights from such familiar stories as Abraham’s binding of Isaac. Contemplating God’s silence after Abraham followed his directives, Linzer muses that “some people spend their whole lives believing God isn’t talking to them.... Your religion might talk to you but you never feel that’s the same as God.” Elsewhere, they interrogate the gap between intent and outcome by considering whether Jacob’s son Reuben was courageous for preventing his brothers from killing Joseph but failing to follow through before they sold him into slavery (Pogrebin credits Reuben with empathy but not courage, while Linzer insists that Reuben’s bravery was essential to Joseph’s survival). No one in the Torah is above scrutiny, with both authors interrogating why God might have hardened Pharaoh’s heart in Exodus, and thereby prolonging the Israelites’ suffering. Such openness gives the book its spark and propels the authors’ broad-minded consideration of such questions as the value of ritual versus belief and what the Bible might have to say about gender identity. Rigorous and readable, it’s a stimulating addition to modern-day Torah scholarship. (Sept.)