From Within the Tent: The Haftarot, by Edited by Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman & Stuart W. Halpern

From Within the Tent: The Haftarot
Mitokh Ha-Ohel: Ha-Haftorot
Essays on the Weekly Haftarah Readings from the Rabbis & Professors of Yeshiva University
By Edited by Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman & Stuart W. Halpern
The Michael Scharf Publication Trust of Yeshiva University Press: New York, NY (2011)
Maggid Books, An imprint of Koren Publishers, Jerusalem
ISBN: 978-161-329-0316

Reviewed by Herbert White - November 29, 2011

From Within the Tent: The Haftarot is the second book in the Mitokh Ha-Ohel series, and it includes seventy-seven essays on the weekly Haftarah reading. These essays were written by the esteemed Rabbis and professors of Yeshiva University, and they include essays from the faculty and administrators representing every facet of the university, including the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Stern College for Women, the Isaac Breuer College of Hebraic Studies, the Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy, the Center for the Jewish Future, the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), the Graduate Program for Women in Advanced Talmudic Studies, and many more.

This massive volume, which contains more than 700 pages is breathtaking in scope and scholarship. The essays in this volume will enhance anyone reading of the Haftarot, and are suitable for both lay readers and academics alike. Many of the essays included extensive footnotes that enhance the general narrative, and which can be used as a guide for further study on the topics under discussion.

In addition, you will find that the nature of the essays in this anthology varies from halakhic discourses to textual analyses and just about every format in-between. This variety in the nature of the essays helps to keep the essays fresh and exciting, and provides readers with an assortment of learning opportunities to challenge their skills and to advance their spiritual and intellectual understanding of the Haftarot.

From Within the Tent: The Haftarot is an eye-opening and edifying book to read, and the combination of essays in the book serve to illuminate the importance and beauty of the Haftarah readings and how they compliment the weekly parashiyot readings. This is an essential addition to all Jewish libraries, both public and private.

Related Reviews:

Mitokh Ha-Ohel, edited by Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman & Stuart W. Halpern.
The rabbis and professors of Yeshiva University, the flagship institution of modern Orthodoxy, have come together in Mitokh Ha-Ohel (Within the Tent) to present scholarly and insightful essays on the weekly Torah portion.
Great Torah Lights from Great Torah Minds, by Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Goodman.
In this five-volume set, Rabbi Goodman has incorporated the teachings and wisdom of some of the greatest Torah scholars of all times, including HaRav Pinchas Friedman of Belz, in this innovative and highly accessible commentary on the Chumash.

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