The Koren Shalem Humash

Translation and commentary by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks

Koren Publishers

Jerusalem, 2025

1736 pages

Reviewed by Rabbi Allen Schwartz

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, zt”l, former chief rabbi of the United Kingdom, has emerged as the dominant Torah voice of Modern Orthodox Jewry. His Torah is eloquent, erudite and multifaceted, speaking to a broad swath of Jews engaged with the world. It resonates not only with those who seek to improve the world, but with those who aspire to do so in the service of the Kingdom of Heaven, “B’malchut Shakkai.”

Rabbi Sacks’ partnership with Koren Publishers has already been well established with his popular work on the Koren Sacks Siddur. Some years ago, Koren translated the Tanach, based on the 1917 JPS translation, which has been a mainstay for schools and synagogues. The new Koren Shalem Humash, with both English translation and commentary by Rabbi Sacks, takes the earlier Koren translation to task.

In the earlier Koren translation, for example, “Bereishit bara Elokim” is translated as “In the beginning, G-d created,” without taking into account that Bereishit may be a construct form, meaning “In the beginning of” (as seen in Jeremiah 26:1, 27:1, 28:1).

The new Koren translation follows the pattern of both the new JPS and ArtScroll’s Stone edition translations, where we find: “When G-d began to create heaven and earth” (JPS) and “In the Beginning of G-d’s creating the heaven and earth” (Stone). The new Koren reads: “When G-d began creating heaven and earth.”

The new Koren translation constantly seeks to improve upon earlier translations. Many examples can be brought, but I will focus on Bereishit, chapter 1. Consider, for example, when G-d states, “Na’aseh adam” (Bereishit 1:26), which most translations render as “Let us make man.” The earlier Koren translation rendered “adam” as “mankind,” and the new translation takes it a step further with “humankind.” This nuance reflects the universal picture of creation in chapter 1 vis-à-vis the particular creation of man in chapter 2, where man (ha’adam) is formed from the dust of the land (Bereishit 2:7). (This translation, however, does not go as far as Robert Alter’s recent rendition of a human formed from the humus [rich soil], in order to draw attention to the etymological pun between adam and adamah.)

In translation, Rabbi Sacks’ prescient comments are only sharpened as we read. Thus, he addresses the Biblical critics who claim that the first two chapters of Genesis represent two different creation sources, by explaining the difference between the universalistic dimension of creation depicted in chapter 1 and the particularistic emphasis in chapter 2. This approach reflects Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s philosophical presentation of Adam I and Adam II; he discusses the particularistic approach to reaching the Divine, represented by Adam I, as well as the universalistic approach to reaching the Divine, represented by Adam II. In this work, the Rav’s presentation is imparted in short paragraphs that are easy to read and digest.

Many readers will reasonably ask: “If I already have the Stone Chumash in my shul or personal library, do I need this one too?” In fact, there are similarities between the two: the layout is similar—with text, Rashi’s commentary and Targum Onkelos at the top, and commentary in English below. Nevertheless, personal libraries will undoubtedly be enriched by Rabbi Sacks’ insightful commentary that will appeal to readers across the spectrum of the serious Modern Orthodox Torah world. Whether or not shuls will replace their Chumashim with this work remains to be seen.

Both the Stone and Koren commentaries draw extensively from the wisdom of Chazal as well as from classic medieval and modern commentary. The Biblical text is seen through the eyes of Chazal, Rashi, Ibn Ezra, the Rambam, Ramban, Seforno, Abrabanel, the Netziv, Meshech Chochmah, and so many others. Additionally, both Chumashim concentrate on the moral aspect of the Torah’s message, providing the reader with a takeaway from the parashah that can be easily shared at the Shabbat table.

The new Koren translation constantly seeks to improve upon earlier translations.

Rabbi Sacks’ work, however, provides additional material that sets it apart from other traditional works; in this regard it is somewhat similar to the Steinsaltz Chumash. Readers will encounter ideas from Plato, Bernard Williams, George Herbert Mead, Peter Beyer, Charles Taylor and Ludwig Wittgenstein—and that’s only in the first three chapters of Bereishit! Readers will also come across references to ancient Ugaritic and Egyptian mythology as well as a broad swatch of ancient Near Eastern parallels to the Torah, alongside questions from Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed. While the Steinsaltz Chumash incorporates a wider range of sources, the Sacks edition will appeal to a wider range of readers.

In his incisive commentary, Rabbi Sacks draws on the most up-to-date psychological research to illuminate family relationships, bringing into focus the Torah’s timeless insights on sibling bonds, parental guidance and spousal connection. The material in the beginning of Bereishit is extremely enlightening but becomes less consistently so as Bereishit progresses. Rabbi Sacks’ other Torah works, in particular, Covenant & Conversation on the weekly Torah portion, can be a worthy supplement at these points.

The Book of Shemot begins, as Bereishit, with a plethora of material from ancient Near Eastern sources that shed light on our Egyptian slavery experience. Throughout, many connections are made between biblical experiences and modern history, as well as contemporary events. Rabbi Sacks provides historical background on the Egyptian rulers of the period and explains how Egyptian military defeats exacerbated hatred of the Jewish people, paralleling the rise of antisemitism in France and Germany in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

When presenting the rituals of the Mishkan and the Temple,  Rabbi Sacks offers halachic, Aggadic and Chassidic sources rendering the intricacies of ritual impurity and sacrificial order relevant to the contemporary reader. Other difficult topics such as reward and punishment are handled thoughtfully as well. As a result, readers of this Chumash can move through Vayikra with the same ease as Bereishit and Shemot.

In Bamidar and Devarim, Rabbi Sacks traces the Jewish people’s transition from “dependent children” to that of “mature adults,” as they prepare themselves for the challenges and responsibilities that such a transformation entails. Concepts such as the sotah, the nazir and the completion and dedication of the Mishkan are all presented in a way that is both relevant and meaningful. With this Chumash, a 3,000-year-old text speaks to our daily experiences.

Finally, Devarim is presented in a way that makes its parallels to the first four books of the Torah readily accessible, with erudite and concise treatment of its repetitions, apparent contradictions, and nuances. I found that this work admirably presents Devarim as a transitional book, preparing the people for entry into the Promised Land, with a keen eye toward the centralization and unification of the nation through Torah, avodah and gemilut chasadim. The balance of these pillars—so central to the ethics of Pirkei Avot—runs through virtually every page of the work.

The Koren Shalem Humash has something for every reader, across every level of learning and observance; the beginner, the ba’al teshuvah, the student and the talmid chacham will all find much to engage and satisfy them. Scholars, in particular, will appreciate the explicatory notes on Onkelos, the most up-to-date scholarship in establishing Rashi’s text, and the excellent glossary that connects to Rabbi Sacks’s broader body of work.

One shortcoming is that Koren’s newly digitized Rashi script can be somewhat difficult to read. Time will tell whether “Rashi script” (which, of course, is not actually Rashi’s own) will go the way of English cursive, but its aesthetic appeal is undeniable. It is striking in a decorative ketivah; whether it serves effectively in a running commentary, however, remains to be seen.

This Chumash certainly belongs in private libraries, adding a bright dimension to weekly Shabbat study. To return to an earlier question: Will large shuls order hundreds of copies to replace the ArtScroll Chumashim they have used for years? Many have also more recently added the Steinsaltz Chumash to their shelves, and, as Kohelet reminds us, “Asot sefarim harbeh ein keitz—the making of many books is without limit” (12:12). All the more so, we should welcome the addition of this new Koren Chumash to our shelves.

Like all of Rabbi Sacks’s Torah, this work will enhance the study of the weekly parashah, aiding in the preparation of divrei Torah, and serving as a meaningful companion in shul, while reviewing the parashah between aliyot. It is a Chumash that will enrich the lives of all who read it.

Rabbi Allen Schwartz is the rav of Congregation Ohab Zedek in Manhattan.