Chumash Stone Edition Travel Size (Artscroll Series) - Ashkenaz Hardcover – May 1, 1998

I cannot believe how good this Chumash is especially given how reasonably priced it was. The quality of this book and the commentaries is just fantastic. I was looking at similar versions for like 500 bucks but this one for 60 is excellent.

We always read the Bible, but this is a new level of understanding. In terms of our belief in GOD, I found it very useful in our journey on earth. As a result of these commentaries, this holy scripture is so amazingly understood to the point where I had to devote time to search for this element that had been missing from my reading of the Bible. One by one, I bought each book of the Bible until I had all of them. These commentaries provide an in-depth analysis of the text of the Bible, breaking down difficult concepts and making them easier to understand. They also provide historical context, which can help people to better understand the message of scripture. Those books constitute my wealth. Thank you for making these available to those who are interested in learning more about God's word and improving their understanding of it.

In looking over the reviews of this uniformly excellent volume, I find that there is some misinformation which should be corrected for the sake of potential buyers.The idea that this translation is "biased" toward Rashi is, frankly, laughable.Where is the evidence for this claim? In the admittedly "extensive and well-researched commentary"?Glancing over the commentary from last week's parsha (Vayigash) I find citations from the following sources among others: Ibn Ezra; Rambam; R. Avraham ben HaRambam; Ramban; R. Hirsch; R. Menachem Mendel of Kotzk; R. Bachya; R. Shlomo Ashtruc; Sforno; the Chafetz Chaim; R. Munk; R. Yosef Dov Solovetchik; R. Yaakov Kamenetzky; R. David Feinstein (not to mention the Zohar and other traditional texts cited by title rather than by author). Even this is not a complete list, and it is just silly to say that the commentary is "not reflective of the variety that is present within the tradition of rabbinic Judaism."Nor would it even be correct to say that Rashi's interpretation is given precedence over others' (as would be expected if the translation were controlled by his commentaries). At 45:1, for example, the commentary cites three interpretations, one each from Rashi, Rashbam, and Ramban, without attempting to adjudicate between them. At 46:15 the commentary cites Rashi, then Ibn Ezra's contrary reading, then Ramban's disagreement with Ibn Ezra. And so forth.Of course Rashi is cited fairly often, as are other solidly tradition-based writers who have written extensive commentaries on the text (i.e., those who are said to be "acceptable [from] a Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) point of view," to those whom our friend regards as "religious extremists"). Why this should be an occasion for surprise or alarm, let alone an indication that something is amiss with the _translation_ in this edition of the Chumash, is more than I can fathom.Nor is any other evidence offered that Rashi's interpretations have colored or biased the translation itself. And such evidence is very much needed, if only to establish the credibility of the one mounting the claim in question. To put it bluntly, anyone who levels such a charge had better be a highly competent reader of Hebrew himself.I must therefore suspect that the problem here is with traditional translation and commentary in general. It is exceedingly odd to describe straightforward Orthodox Judaism as "fundamentalism" -- a term much more descriptive of the various "liberal" movements which derisively tagged traditional Judaism as "Orthodoxy" in the first place.At any rate, such comments do tell the customer something important: this volume is faithful to Torah-based Jewish tradition in a way that even the most conservative "liberal" Jews will find uncomfortable. In other words, if you want to study Torah, this Chumash is just exactly the edition you need.

It was wonderful having the English translation directly opposite the Hebrew. I was amazed at the amount of detail the writers put into dissecting virtually every verse in the entire Torah and I received a wonderful education from reading

This book is beautiful well created. And it teaches you the knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, which builds patience, and humility. I like that it is written in two languages, which helps us to connect to G_d even more. The book has recipes in the back for traditional Jewish foods. It also has maps and explanations of how the Arc was built. Which is very insightful. Thank you for providing this book on Amazon!

Received in almost perfect condition. Thank you!

While this Chumash does seem very (some may say "too") dependent on Rashi in both its commentary notes and its translation choices for the more difficult Hebrew, I find the traditional notes and Rabbinic commentary Enlightening even when I don't completely agree with it. I like the Koren fonts for Hebrew a little more and the Koren tendency to put the Hebrew on the left instead of the right page, but the fonts for the Hebrew are easy to read and the traditional page layout is maintained. The pages in the full-size version are large enough for the Targum Onkelos, Rashi's commentary in Hebrew, and English translation and commentaries. The JPS translation is more literal than the Artscroll, and as I said, the Artscroll relies heavily on Rashi.I use more modernist Tenakh and Torah commentaries often, but having an Orthodox version which skews traditional and is very useful for understanding Judaism as it is understood by Haredi and other Orthodox rabbis. The book design is excellent and sturdy. The pictures at the end at quite good. I find that I use it with Jewish Study Bible quite a bit.

I was looking to find something that would complement the Bible and give me more insight into the scriptures. For me the bible in a few places seemed to cut off too quick to what was all transpiring. This has help fill the in the void. Takes a little getting used to, only because it reads right to left. But I appreciate the work that was done.