Hidden meanings abound in every letter and every word of the Torah. In Midrash Sinim: Hasidic Legend and Commentary on the Torah, author Yong Zhao offersthoughtful commentaries on Jewish beliefs and traditions, including the Torah and theKabbalah. He answers the following questions in his commentaries as well:

• God had respect for Abel and his offering, but not Cain and his offering. Why?
• Ham saw the nakedness of his father, Noah, but why did Noah curse Ham’s son Canaan and his offspring rather than Ham himself?
• How can we understand that the Tree of Life was actually an atonement tree?
• How can we deduce from ancient Chinese characters that Adam’s fi rst prayer was for Eve and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was actually an apricot tree?
• How can we understand that Exodus was an epoch-making event for not only the Jews but also other nations?

While many other works on the scriptures exist solely to relay content to readers, Midrash Sinim: Hasidic Legend and Commentary on the Torah unveils complexities of numerical mysteries, unfolds controversial questions, provides creative legends, and deciphers eternal puzzles. Zhao explores mysterious components of the Torah using a straightforward approach that can inspire you to grasp Torah symbols with a critical eye.

Midrash Sinim provides gripping historical, sociological, archeological, and theoretical components of the Torah, through which the profundity of Torah and Jewish traditions shines with even greater brilliance.