These Words is a modern midrashic love song to the Jewish obsession with words as living, breathing things. Each chapter is a prophetic gem on a key word of Torah. What are sacred words but humanity's attempt to express the inexpressible? Alden Solovy transcends the deficiencies of simple words by offering us inspired poetry.
--Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl, Senior Rabbi, Central Synagogue, NYC
In These Words, Alden Solovy dives deep into the vocabulary of the Torah, extracting--with the aid of centuries of interpreters--pregnant meanings that still have resonance in our lives. Equally impressive, and speaking with his unique voice, are the wondrous poems that accompany these ruminations. This book is a double treasure for all who wish to look beneath the surface of sacred words and the images they engender.
--Everett Fox, PhD, translator of The Five Books of Moses
Alden Solovy has long shared his exquisite poetry, enhancing our communal worship and private prayer, Torah study, and celebrations of the seasons of the years and our lives. Now, in These Words, he invites us to accompany him on the journey that leads to his magical poetry. Grounded in methods as diverse as g'matria (numerology) and feminist scholarship, Solovy engages our rational minds in analysis of our tradition's most impactful Hebrew words before transitioning to poetry that elevates our spirits. This groundbreaking volume touches both brain and soul, offering new meaning for all who engage with our sacred vocabulary.
--Rabbi Barry H. Block, editor of The Mussar Torah Commentary and The Social Justice Torah Commentary