The Book of J By David Rosenberg and Harold Bloom Grove Press (2004), 352 pages ISBN-10: 0802141919 ISBN-13: 978-0802141910

Reviewed by Israel Drazin - February 9, 2010

The enlightenment that began during the late eighteenth century brought about great changes in behaviors and thinking. One of the greatest was a challenge against the idea that God composed and transmitted the Five Books of Moses. The challenge, of course was not new. Abraham ibn Ezra in the eleventh century and Baruch Spinoza in the seventeenth questioned the divine origin of the Torah. Although not generally known, the ancient rabbis themselves saw many difficulties in the Bible text and commented upon them in their Midrashim and Talmuds. In this volume, the authors take another step and say that the parts of the Five Books of Moses that many scholars call the J parts, was composed by a woman. Their proof is that the writing shows delicacy, emotions and a feeling for people, the attributes generally associated with women. Agree with them or not, the authors' arguments make the reader more sensitive to the biblical text and are prompt readers to ask additional questions and learn more about the Bible.

• The Book of David, by David Rosenberg.
  The Book of David illuminates the original story of David so that it becomes, once again, our founding narrative of spiritual consciousness.
  
  
• Abraham: The First Historical Biography, by David Rosenberg.
  The world's three largest faiths all find a common root in one man: Abraham. Breaking new ground, David Rosenberg portrays Abraham as a man whose whole life, and therefore his legacy, is informed by the Sumerian culture that produced him.