Offers a picture of the textual reality of, and the rabbinic beliefs about the Torah. This book demonstrates that many of the same rabbinic figures whose teachings inform other contemporary Orthodox doctrines were quite open about the fact that their Bible texts, even their Torah scrolls, were not completely accurate.

The Hebrew text of the Torah has never been finalized down to the last letter. This is important not least because Jewish law requires that Torah scrolls read publicly in the synagogue be error-free. Jewish scribes, scholars, and legal authorities have sought to overcome or narrow these differences, but to this day have not completely succeeded in doing so. This book offers an in-depth study of how rabbinic leaders of the past two millennia have dealt with questions about the text's accuracy, presenting numerous authoritative rabbinic sources, many translated here for the first time.

The first comprehensive study of post-massoretic rabbinical views of textual criticism of the Hebrew Bible ... excellent.