by Daniel Langer
Published by Urim Publications
Hardcover, 176 pages
ISBN 13: 978-965-524-087-0
publication: 2012
Daniel Langer offers an innovative approach to the study of Chumash. Within literary units of the Torah, key words often appear in multiples of seven, with the context of the first shedding light on the seventh. Through the simple counting of words, we not only reveal the exquisite artistry inherent in the text, but we begin to uncover intertextual relationships between various portions of the Torah and unveil hidden layers of meaning.
The Torah is a tapestry of words. Umberto Cassuto said that numerical symmetry is the golden thread that binds the Torah together, providing convincing proof of its unity. As this thread weaves its way through the fabric of the Torah, joining the seventh to the first, interconnecting words and themes across literary sections, both large and small, it inscribes the signet of God in every fiber along the way.
About the Author:
Daniel Langer has published articles in Tradition and Nishma. A retired New York City public school teacher, he currently teaches science at the Telshe Yeshiva in Riverdale, New York. He has a BS in Biology from CCNY, and a MS in special education from Hofstra University. He began studying Torah at adult education classes in Riverdale. This is his first book, the culmination of twenty years of research. He lives with his wife and is a proud father and grandfather.
Praise for The Seventh and the First:
The exactness of the Biblical language is fundamental in our study of the text; the use of one word instead of another of similar meaning is, simply, significant. Daniel Langer's work forging connections between Biblical passages that use the same word over variant numerical sequences is an important tool in this process. The precise use of word parallels can reveal a deeper meaning across the Biblical text, and this comparison of Biblical episodes can further our understanding of the uniqueness of specific words.
-Rabbi Benjamin Hecht
Founding Director of Nishma.org
Daniel Langer's research will fascinate scholar and layman alike with his bold insights based on word parallels and numerical symmetries. Whether or not one agrees with all his conclusions, Langer has challenged close readers of Tanakh with a methodology that takes Cassuto and Buber's attentiveness to word repetition to the next level. Read this book and you will never look at the book of Bereishit the same way you had before.
-Rabbi Shmuel Klitsner
Teacher at Midreshet Lindenbaum and author of The Lost Children of Tarshish and Wrestling Jacob
Published by Urim Publications
Hardcover, 176 pages
ISBN 13: 978-965-524-087-0
publication: 2012
Daniel Langer offers an innovative approach to the study of Chumash. Within literary units of the Torah, key words often appear in multiples of seven, with the context of the first shedding light on the seventh. Through the simple counting of words, we not only reveal the exquisite artistry inherent in the text, but we begin to uncover intertextual relationships between various portions of the Torah and unveil hidden layers of meaning.
The Torah is a tapestry of words. Umberto Cassuto said that numerical symmetry is the golden thread that binds the Torah together, providing convincing proof of its unity. As this thread weaves its way through the fabric of the Torah, joining the seventh to the first, interconnecting words and themes across literary sections, both large and small, it inscribes the signet of God in every fiber along the way.
About the Author:
Daniel Langer has published articles in Tradition and Nishma. A retired New York City public school teacher, he currently teaches science at the Telshe Yeshiva in Riverdale, New York. He has a BS in Biology from CCNY, and a MS in special education from Hofstra University. He began studying Torah at adult education classes in Riverdale. This is his first book, the culmination of twenty years of research. He lives with his wife and is a proud father and grandfather.
Praise for The Seventh and the First:
The exactness of the Biblical language is fundamental in our study of the text; the use of one word instead of another of similar meaning is, simply, significant. Daniel Langer's work forging connections between Biblical passages that use the same word over variant numerical sequences is an important tool in this process. The precise use of word parallels can reveal a deeper meaning across the Biblical text, and this comparison of Biblical episodes can further our understanding of the uniqueness of specific words.
-Rabbi Benjamin Hecht
Founding Director of Nishma.org
Daniel Langer's research will fascinate scholar and layman alike with his bold insights based on word parallels and numerical symmetries. Whether or not one agrees with all his conclusions, Langer has challenged close readers of Tanakh with a methodology that takes Cassuto and Buber's attentiveness to word repetition to the next level. Read this book and you will never look at the book of Bereishit the same way you had before.
-Rabbi Shmuel Klitsner
Teacher at Midreshet Lindenbaum and author of The Lost Children of Tarshish and Wrestling Jacob