The Five Megilloth (Soncino Books of the Bible)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Introduction to the Megilloth
Review: Soncino's commentary on the megilloth (Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther) includes introductory essays by Rabbis Cohen and Rosenberg, the Hebrew text with English translation on the facing page, and a digest of commentaries below the translation. Further midrashic commentaries are appended at the end of each book

The commentaries present a wide range of rabbinic views of the megilloth, and are drawn from dozens of sources, from Talmudic times through the late Middle Ages. They present the reader with a respresentative cross-section of traditional Jewish thought on the subjects raised in each scroll. Consquently, this work serves as an excellent introduction the megilloth and their place in the Jewish Canon.