Massimiliano Boni
SCRIPTURE AND NATURE. Trees, Plants, Men, and Women in the Torah
Alberi, piante, uomini e donne nella Torah
1st edition June 2026
Series
PAROLE PER LO SPIRITO
Size 14 x 21 cm
Number of pages 256
CDU
226Q 426
ISBN/EAN
9788892250543
Massimiliano Boni
SCRIPTURE AND NATURE. Trees, Plants, Men, and Women in the Torah
What wood was Noah’s ark built with? And what tree offered shade to Abraham when he welcomed the three mysterious visitors to the oaks of Mamre? Starting from questions like these, Massimiliano Boni offers an original reinterpretation of the Hebrew Bible through the plant world. Trees, shrubs, aromatic herbs, and precious woods become the common thread through some of the most famous biblical episodes, revealing their symbolic and spiritual meanings. Enriched by commentaries from masters of Jewish tradition, the volume takes the readers on a journey accessible even to non-specialists, intertwining biblical stories, botanical curiosities, and spiritual reflection. What emerges is a vision of Judaism closely tied to nature, considered a place of teaching, harmony, and blessing, still capable of offering a fresh perspective on the relationship between human beings and creation.
Massimiliano Boni (Rome, 1971), graduated in law, philosophy, and Jewish studies from the Rabbinical College of Rome, heads the Office of the Supreme Court of the Constitutional Court. He served as a councillor of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities from 2021 to 2025. He is currently a member of the Italian delegation to the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance). He has published, among other things, the memoir Solo per un giorno (66thand2nd, 2015), the novel Il museo delle penultime cose (66thand2nd, 2017), the biographies of the jurist Lodovico Mortara (Il figlio del rabbino. Lodovico Mortara, storia di un ebreo ai vertici del Regno d’Italia, Viella, 2018) and Gaetano Azzariti (In questi tempi di fervore e di gloria. Vita di Gaetano Azzariti, magistrato senza toga, capo del Tribunale della razza, presidente della Corte costituzionale, Bollati Boringhieri, 2022); Storia politica della Corte costituzionale. Dalle origini al centro sinistra (1945-1967) Viella, 2026).
Selling Points
- Original reinterpretation of the Hebrew Bible through the plant world.
- Vision of Judaism in which nature is a source of teaching, balance, and blessing.
- Journey accessible even to non-specialists.
A discovery of the plant world in the Hebrew Bible,
from the great tales of origins to the texts of rabbinic tradition.