This first of five volumes of Studies on the Torah (the Pentateuch) focuses on the creative approach of the Biblical commentary of 19th-century commentator Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch.

Rabbi Hirsch's ideas are based on analyses of the written text, allowing the words to speak for themselves through the use of language and imagery. His clearly developed philosophy of Judaism pervades the commentary and evokes eternal concepts and values reflecting the Torah's contribution to contemporary Jewish and general society.

The first 11 chapters of the Bible are presented in these Studies in the form of six teaching stories that offer a universal message to all humankind, prior to the introduction of Abraham. Beginning with Chapter 12, four to five Studies explore meaningful themes within each weekly Torah reading.