Below is a list of the ‘Best of JPS’ by subject. It includes classic JPS references, followed by suggestions for courses based on some of our best books.
We hope you enjoy this resource, and if you do plan on teaching a class with a JPS book, please let us know. We may even want to profile the course in a future newsletter.
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#1 Teaching the Bible
JPS Classic References:
- JPS TANAKH
Available in various sizes, colors, and styles in both Hebrew-English and English-only editions. English-only version is also available through most e-book vendors. Customer Guide to Choosing Your Bible.
- JPS Torah Commentary
Genesis (Nahum M. Sarna), Exodus (Nahum M. Sarna), Leviticus (Baruch A. Levine), Numbers (Jacob Milgrom), Deuteronomy (Jeffrey H. Tigay)
- JPS Bible Commentary
Five Torah volumes (above) plus these additional six volumes:
Jonah (Uriel Simon), Ecclesiastes (Michael V. Fox), Esther (Adele Berlin), Ruth (Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, Tikva Frymer-Kensky), Song of Songs-NEW (Michael Fishbane)
- The Commentators’ Bible – The Rubin JPS Miqra’ot Gedolot
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy-NEW, Genesis to be published in 2018 Edited, translated and annotated by Michael Carasik
- Legends of the Jews (2 vols.)
By Louis Ginzberg
Other worthy references:
- The Jewish Bible: A JPS Guide
- Who’s Who in the Jewish Bible (David Mandel)
- How to Read the Bible (Marc Brettler)
Course Suggestions:
#2 Teaching Rabbinic Judaism
Course Suggestions:
| Course Title | Suggested Text |
| 1. Introduction to Talmud | Swimming in the Sea of Talmud (Michael Katz and Gershon Schwartz) |
| 2. Stories from the Talmud | A Bride for One Night (Ruth Calderon) |
| 3. Ethics from the Talmud | Pirke Avot (William Berkson) |
| 4. Midrash | Searching for Meaning in Midrash (Michael Katz and Gershon Schwartz) |
| 5. Akiva | Akiva: Life, Legend, Legacy (Reuven Hammer) |
| 6. Kabbalah | A Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism Reader (Daniel Horwitz) |
| 7. Maimonides | Maimonides and the Book That Changed Judaism (Micah Goodman) Maimonides: Torah and Philosophic Quest (David Hartman) |
| 8. Maimonides II | The Epistles of Maimonides (Abraham Halkin) |
| 9. Mussar | The Lost Matriarch: Finding Leah in the Bible and Midrash (Moses Hayyim Luzzato, Ira F. Stone, Mordechai M. Kaplan) |
| 10. Haggadah | A Passover Haggadah: Go Forth and Learn (Rabbi David Silber with Rachel Furst) |
Other classic rabbinic texts:
- Mekhilta-de-Rabbi Ishmael (2 vols.) (Jacob Lauterbach)
- Mekhilta-de-Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai (W. David Nelson)
- Tanna Debe Eliyyahu: The Lore of the School of Elijah (William Braude)
- The Book of Tradition: Sefer ha-Qabbalah (Gershom Cohen)
- Jewish Law: History, Sources, Principles (4 vols.) (Menachem Elon)
- The JPS Commentary on the Haggadah: Go Forth and Learn (Rabbi David Silber)
#3 Teaching Modern Jewish Thought
JPS Classic References:
20th Century Jewish Religious Thought (Arthur A. Cohen and Paul Mendes-Flohr, eds.)
