Reviews for Insights in the Torah: [Oznayim La-Torah] the Chumash

The average rating for Insights in the Torah: [Oznayim La-Torah] the Chumash based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-07-09 00:00:00 Kelly Adrian This is a traditonal barmitzvah present. This probably accounts for its bargain price and new condition in used book markets. If the people really liked the kid, they should have been decent and given him a gift voucher for itunes, a game, some cash towards his college fund or even a fountain pen instead. Two stars because it wasn't hateful it was just more boring stuff of how to be a good person and live a good life and do all the right things all the time in the name of (insert name of prophet or deity of your choice) ..... This one happens to be Jewish, but it would be the same in any religion (hopefully. We don't want to encourage kids to hate, behead, spit on, or otherwise despise anyone at all do we?) The West Indian equivalent bought for Christian kids at Christmas, at least in my shop, is The Book of Virtues. It's even worse than the Other Side of the Story by 'virtue' of being twice a thick. Teenagers don't want improving, they are more-or-less perfect as they are with their wonderful black and white sense of justice, their youthful beauty (if they haven't got acne) and shiny eyes and boundless sense of fun and energy. Not to mention appetite and ability to sleep 'til mid-afternoon. The bits that are only more-or-less will hopefully get polished and refined. But books like this even if they say all the right things won't help because they will never ever be read. Attempted sometime in 2003

Review # 2 was written on 2021-08-13 00:00:00 Aaron Denman From the book jacket: "He's inconsiderate. She's discourteous. They're negligent. You are absolutely, positively, no-doubt-about-it certain that your friend/spouse/boss/neighbor/fellow-Jew has done something he shouldn't have. And you're wrong. ... The plumber was a thief, the teacher was incompetent, the babysitter irresponsible. The judgment was clear. Until we heard The Other Side of the Story." Our Rabbi has given quite a few talks on looking at people with "a good eye". That is what this book is about; to slow down, think about the possibilities for another person's actions or perceived actions, to consider all the information and not jump to conclusions. We are told a lot of true stories that show us how situations can be misread and misunderstood, and how looking at people with a good eye can avoid damaging relationships and can repair rifts between people. I particularly liked this partial quotation taken from the walls of Kevar Rachel, "Through Your mercy, may I always merit to judge others favorably; may you bestow upon me the intelligence to understand how to search for and find redeeming factors, strengths and virtues in my fellow man at all times."