The Book of Revolutions: The Battles of Priests, Prophets, and Kings That Birthed the Torah

This edifying chronicle by rabbi Feld (The Spirit of Renewal) illuminates the history behind three legal codes in the Hebrew Bible. The author consults contemporary biblical scholarship to examine how a trio of biblical-era revolutions led to the Torah’s inclusion of sometimes conflicting legal codes: the Covenant, Deuteronomic, and Holiness codes. He lays out the history behind the revolutions, which include a military coup in northern Israel, a royal assassination in Judea, and a theological sea change in Babylonia, and explores how these events each influenced the composition of a code. Feld persuasively suggests that the decision by early editors of the Hebrew Bible to leave in the codes’ discrepancies reflects the editors’ understanding that “they were heirs to a multiplicity of traditions and did not seek to choose between them to create a common orthodoxy.” Extrapolating on the implications for modern practice, the author posits that there’s “not a single, right pathway” for practicing Judaism. Feld displays a remarkable talent for balancing accessible language with depth of thought and rigorous research, all while exercising a penetrating insight for how ancient conflicts factor into contemporary discourse. Stellar scholarship makes this an essential religious and cultural history. (Sept.)