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Winner of the 2005 Canadian Jewish Book Award in the Biblical/Rabbinic Scholarship category.

In the twelfth century C.E., Rabbi Samuel ben Meir (Rashbam), a pious and learned rabbi, wrote a biblical commentary that broke radically with the way that rabbis generally interpreted the Bible. His method emphasized the "plain" meaning of the text; it avoided the use of legends or far-fetched interpretations--even those that had been hallowed by tradition--and sought to explain the biblical text, rather than to edify. This book makes Rabbi Samuel's work on Deuteronomy available to the English reader in a readable translation, with helpful notes and illustrations. Primarily of interest to students of biblical exegesis, this work will also be useful for students of rabbinics, medieval Jewish intellectual history, history of Hebrew language, and Jewish-Christian polemics.

Martin I. Lockshin is Associate Professor of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics, and Director of the Centre for Jewish Studies, at York University in Toronto.