Saul Lieberman apocryphon?

SAUL LIEBERMAN APOCRYPHON? The book under review in this article sounds interesting, but what caught my eye was the anecdote about the renowned scholar of ancient Judaism, Saul Lieberman:

100 great Jewish books presented in one volume

By Rabbi Jack Riemer
Florida Jewish Journal
2:33 p.m. EST, December 20, 2011

ONE HUNDRED GREAT JEWISH BOOKS, by Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, Blue Bridge, 352 pages, paperback, $16.95.

There is a story — perhaps apocryphal, perhaps not — that is told about Professor Saul Lieberman that came to my mind as I read this book.

The story is that a reporter came to interview him after he won some academic prize. The reporter noticed a book on his desk and asked him what it was. The professor answered: "That's a copy of the Bible." Then the reporter saw another book and asked what it was. Lieberman said: "That's a Mishnah." The reporter asked what a Mishnah was and Lieberman explained that it was a commentary on the Bible." Then the reporter noticed another book and asked what it was. "That's the Talmud," said Lieberman. "What's a Talmud?" asked the reporter and the professor explained that the Talmud is a commentary on the Mishnah. The reporter then asked what the writing on one side of the Talmud was and Lieberman explained that that was the commentary on the Talmud by Rashi. The reporter then asked what the writing on the other side of the Talmud was and Lieberman said that that was the Tosafot. The reporter asked what the Tosefot was and Lieberman explained that the Tosafot were a commentary on Rashi. This went on for a while longer, until the reporter exclaimed: "Now I get it. Judaism is a conversation between the generations."

Lieberman said afterwards that this was the shortest, simplest definition of Judaism that he had ever heard, and that he learned it from a non-Jew.

I thought of this story because of what this book sets out to do. Rabbi Hoffman has chosen the hundred books that have formed Judaism and then he has responded to each of them with a thoughtful two or three page review. You can quibble if you wish over which books were included or about which ones were left out, but if you read these hundred essays you will have a pretty good idea of what Judaism is all about. I have some reservations. There could have been more of the Bible included. There could have been less of some modern Jewish writers who do not have lasting significance. There are some — particularly in the modern fiction section — that I don't think deserved to make the cut. But all the basic books that have formed us are here and Rabbi Hoffman talks to them and about them with great respect.

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