In Very Near to You, Avraham Burg – former Speaker of the Knesset and chairman of the Jewish Agency – offers a fresh reading of the weekly Torah portion. Written from a deep commitment to Judaism, it places the responsibility for interpretation, and for Jewish identity, in the hands of each reader: the Torah is not in heaven, but in our own hearts and mouths, to study and to live by.
Burg draws readers into the language of the Five Books of Moses, a language at once human, universal, moral, historical, and national. His interpretation, he stresses, is only one of many, and he invites readers to argue or agree, to add or subtract, and ultimately to develop interpretations of their own.
“Turn the Torah over and over again, the ancient rabbis said, ‘for everything is in it.’ Avraham Burg shows the way in his unique and valuable Torah commentary, displaying a profound mastery of classical Jewish learning and secular knowledge, informed by the events of our world and sensitive to the psychological intricacies of our lives. All these qualities combine in a truly insightful, original volume. It will reward the reader greatly!”
-Rabbi David Ellenson, President of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
“Avraham Burg is a rare and crucial figure. Not only does he use Torah to challenge contemporary values; he uses contemporary values to challenge Torah, calling on us to make Judaism relevant to the democratic experiment. It is a call of desperate importance. I hope that we on this side of the ocean summon the strength to respond.”
-Peter Beinart, Associate Professor of Journalism and Political Science, City University of New York
“Avraham Burg turns his brilliant mind and incisive pen to the Torah itself, giving us a bold commentary that is erudite, compassionate and revolutionary. This is Torah for the twenty-first century, addressing questions that meeker commentators fear to touch. Read this commentary, struggle, and grow with Avraham Burg, week by sacred week.”
-Rabbi Amy Eilberg, leader of interfaith dialogue programs, St. Paul Interfaith Network, St. Paul, Minnesota; first woman ordained as a Conservative rabbi
