Good points. The way I see it a person can take one of two divergent paths when starting to figure out what the OT is talking about. Either you take the secular path (we can read Frye and Harold Bloom for good starters) or you can plunge right into the Rabbinic commentaries. These are extremely vast, deep and go way back into commentaries gathered up in the Talmud. Way back. Frankly, after looking at the secular writers I prefer the Rabbinic writers, even if they are flawed and full of their own belief systems shortcomings. Having said that, there are Rabbi's and there are Rabbi's. It takes years to figure out who is appealing. Believe me, most Jews never take a deeper interest beyond Rashi and that is just fine. Some take the time to read deeper analysis and it just gets harder to comprehend as you go along. The mystical interpretations are all but impossible to really grasp. My choice, as I say is to work with the Rabbinic commentaries. Other people just stay away from them and well, that's their choice.
fred [snip]
