In her bold new book, Rabbi Caryn Broitman invites readers back into the radical Jewish tradition of interpretation.
With warmth, clarity, and a fresh look at Jewish tradition, The Torah Is an Open Book reclaims sacred text as a space for dialogue, transformation, and moral courage, where questioning, wrestling, and interpreting are not only allowed – they’re sacred.
About the Book
The Torah Is an Open Book: Radical Readings for the Seeker and the Skeptic is a response to conservative or literalist voices who have used Scripture to exclude, shame, and silence others, leading many to disregard the text altogether. She invites readers of all backgrounds – religious, secular, or simply spiritual – to engage with the Bible as a living conversation.
Drawing on centuries of Jewish commentary and her own experience as a congregational rabbi, Broitman shows how even the most difficult or obscure passages can become sources of insight, justice, and connection when read through the lens of midrash.
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“Rabbi Caryn Broitman is an inspiring, thoughtful and learned voice for justice rooted in a tradition that has made prophesy central to its purpose and practice. With eloquence and energy, she reminds us that the Hebrew Bible speaks to us still as a call for ‘compassion and repentance, love and liberation’. This timely reminder is a blessing, and so is her invitation to humility and curiosity.”
– E. J. Dionne Jr., author of Our Divided Political Heart: The Battle for the American Idea in an Age of Discontent
Rooted in Jewish Tradition
Models a classically Jewish interpretive approach: dialogical, questioning, and grounded in centuries of commentary.
Bridges Text and Today
Connects ancient text with ethical, communal, and political questions facing Jewish communities right now.
Reclaims Midrash
Demonstrates how creativity, curiosity, and questioning are not modern additions but core features of Jewish learning.
“Rabbi Caryn Broitman is a lover of Torah but not an apologist for it. Through beautiful and sometimes radical acts of interpretation, she shows that Jewish texts belong to all of us – and that we can embrace them without leaving our deepest values behind.”
– Peter Beinart, author of Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza
About Rabbi Caryn Broitman
Rabbi Caryn Broitman has served as rabbi of the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center since 2003. She is a graduate of Harvard University in the Comparative Study of Religion, and received her Rabbinical Ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. She has been a Senior Educators Fellow at the Melton Center of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a Daniel Jeremy Silver Fellow at the Center for Jewish Studies, Harvard University. She is a regular contributor to Moment Magazine and a sought-after speaker on multi-faith topics, and her work has been featured on NPR and WMVY Radio. She lives on Martha’s Vineyard.
Photo by Randi Baird
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