With a Mighty Hand: The Story in the Torah

Gr 7 Up—In shortened, modernized prose format, Ehrlich retells the five books of the Torah as a collection of stories that relate the history of the Israelites and their relationship to Yahweh (their God). She has divided the books of Genesis and Exodus by topic and titled each story in all five books, breaking up the detailed text and giving it more appeal to young people. Yet the integrity of the biblical tales, the sacred feel of the text, and the flow of ancient history remain intact. For example, in the tales of Adam and the patriarchs, the genealogical listings of the generations in each lineage and the ages of the major characters at various junctures in their lives and at death have been included as they appear in the Torah. These stories are not without the violence that is part of the Old Testament, such as the sexual assault on Jacob and Leah's daughter, Dinah, by the Canaanite Shechem and the subsequent slaughter and looting of his brethren by her brothers. Nevins's handsome, richly colored oil on wood paintings, freely scattered throughout the pages, range in style from graphic renderings of the burning bush to a surrealist depiction of Jacob wrestling with God. There is a distinctly biblical look to the Middle Eastern characters. Ehrlich's introduction provides information about the Torah's history. A section of notes explaining some curious customs mentioned in the Torah and a short bibliography of sources are appended. This beautifully executed adaptation deserves strong consideration for Judaica and public library collections.—Susan Scheps, formerly at Shaker Public Library, OH