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Leviticus: The Book of Holiness
Covenant & Conversation: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible

Publication date: 4 February 2015

This collection makes Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’ brilliant essays on the weekly Torah portion available in book form for the first time. Rabbi Sacks fuses Jewish tradition, Western philosophy and literature to present a highly developed understanding of the human condition under God’s sovereignty. This third volume in the five-volume series includes several concise essays for each portion of Leviticus.


Of all the Mosaic books, Vayikra, Leviticus, is the one most out of step with contemporary culture. Many find it difficult to relate to its concerns. It opens with an account of sacrifices, something we have not experienced for close to two millennia. Its preoccupation with ritual purity and defilement seems to come from another age… Yet Leviticus is a – perhaps even the – key text of Judaism.

Vayikra wrestles with some of the deepest questions of religion. How, in a finite world, can we relate to an infinite God who cannot be identified with any natural phenomenon, who can neither be seen nor visually represented? At a quite different level, how can we take the fire of religious inspiration and turn it into an everlasting flame? How can we recapture “peak experiences” on a regular basis? And how can we take a way of life for the few and make it the possession of the many?

The book begins with an elite, the priests, sons of Aaron, a minority within a minority, one specific family within the tribe of Levi. It culminates in a call from God to the entire nation. It begins in the Sanctuary but ends in society. It democratises kedusha, holiness, the sign of God’s presence, so that it becomes part of the ongoing like of the people as a whole.


Formats

  • Hardcover
  • Kindle

quotemarks
Rabbi Sacks’ gift to his readers is his lucid explanations that make use of stories from the Jewish tradition, scholarly explanations, and personal philosophies in a humane and kind tone that illustrates his intense love and knowledge of his topic and a deep respect for the reader… a fresh look at the text and original contribution to the ongoing conversation of our tradition.
Jewish Book World
Concise yet profound, these frequently poetic ruminations make for perfect reading for the lay person or scholar.
Rabbinical Council of America
A great scholar and a great communicator, Rabbi Sacks has done a superb job in crafting commentary that is erudite and accessible to the average reader.
The Jewish Standard
Powerfully interwoven themes transform years of careful reflection into the fresh insights of a moment… Jonathan Sacks at his philosophical, exegetical best.
The Jewish Chronicle