Redeeming Relevance in the Book of Genesis: Explorations in Text and Meaning

We see fewer and fewer serious attempts to seek the Torah's evaluation of new ideas and behavior.... This is the way one treats antiquities: by protecting them in museums, they lose any relevance to the present. More important, this is not the way Jews have treated their Torah throughout history. From time immemorial, Jews have taken the risk of misinterpreting the Torah. They have done so in order to find guidance, inspiration, and truth for themselves and their communities. This, perhaps more than anything else, has allowed our ancient Torah to be a living document for the Jewish people. (Introduction)