The Etz Hayim Humash also known as Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, is a humash

Humash

The Hebrew term Chumash is one of the Hebrew names for the Five Books of Moses, also known by the Latinised Greek term Pentateuch or as one of the uses of the Hebrew term Torah, "Law." The word comes from the Hebrew word for five, ḥamesh...

published and used by the Conservative Jewish movement. Its production involved the collaboration of the Rabbinical Assembly

Rabbinical Assembly

The Rabbinical Assembly is the international association of Conservative rabbis. The RA was founded in 1901 to shape the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement. It publishes prayerbooks and books of Jewish interest, and oversees the work of the Committee on Jewish Law and...

, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism

United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism is the primary organization of synagogues practicing Conservative Judaism in North America...

, and the Jewish Publication Society.

Authors

• Senior Editor: David L. Lieber
• P'Shat Commentary Editor: Chaim Potok
  Chaim Potok
  Chaim Potok was an American Jewish author and rabbi. Potok is most famous for his first book The Chosen, a 1967 novel which was listed on The New York Times’ best seller list for 39 weeks and sold more than 3,400,000 copies.-Biography :Herman Harold Potok was born in The Bronx, New York City, to...
  
  
• D'Rash Commentary Editor: Harold Kushner
  Harold Kushner
  Rabbi Harold Samuel Kushner is a prominent American rabbi aligned with the progressive wing of Conservative Judaism, and a popular author.- Education :...
  
  
• Haftarah Commentary: Michael Fishbane
  Michael Fishbane
  Michael A. Fishbane is a scholar of Judaism and rabbinic literature. Formerly at Brandeis University, he is currently the Nathan Cummings Professor of Jewish Studies at the Divinity School, University of Chicago....
  
  
• Literary Editor: Jules Harlow
  Jules Harlow
  Jules Harlow is a rabbi and liturgist; son of Henry and Lena Lipman Harlow. He was born in Sioux City, Iowa.In 1952 at Morningside College in Sioux City he earned a B.A., and from there went to New York City to study in the Jewish Theological Seminary of America; here he became ordained as a rabbi...
  
  
• Halacha L'Maaseh Editors: Elliot Dorff and Susan Grossman

Content

The Etz Hayim contains the Hebrew text of the Torah

Torah

Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...

, the Jewish Publication Society (JPS)'s modern English translation of the Hebrew text, a number of commentaries, written in English, on the Torah which run alongside the Hebrew text and its English translation and a number of essays on the Torah and Tanach in the back of the book. The Etz Hayim contains three types of commentary: the p'shat which discusses the literal meaning of the text, the drash which draws on Talmudic, Medieval

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

, Chassidic, and Modern Jewish sources to expound on the deeper meaning of the text, and the halacha l'maaseh which explains how the text relates to current Jewish practice and halacha, or Jewish law. The essays in the back cover a wide range of topics, from kashrut

Kashrut

Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...

to eschatology

Eschatology

Eschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...

 and everything in between.

Some of the essays uphold the traditional view that the Torah is the divine word of God, while others challenge it and question the historicity of some of the biblical narratives. This has raised objections, among Orthodox

Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...

 circles, to the publication.

External links

• Publication Humash by RA
  Rabbinical Assembly
  The Rabbinical Assembly is the international association of Conservative rabbis. The RA was founded in 1901 to shape the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement. It publishes prayerbooks and books of Jewish interest, and oversees the work of the Committee on Jewish Law and...
  
  
• Etz Hayim Torah Commentary by USCJ
  United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
  The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism is the primary organization of synagogues practicing Conservative Judaism in North America...
  
  
• Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary by JPS
• The Lieber Humash by AJU
• Rabbi David Lieber, Scholar and University President, Dies at 83 by NYT