My friend Stephen I. Ternyik posted the following very complementary and very nice article about me on the internet in Academia, Edu. Academia’s mission is to accelerate the world’s research and to share important information  . Today 266 million users have joined Academia.edu, and around 140,000 people join Academia.edu each day. It believes that science is a transformative lever for technological progress. Archimedes’ principle, “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world,” encapsulates this vision. I am one of the 266 million. I also use this organization.

Stephen I. Ternyik, MA, is private entrepreneurial economics scholar/educator, with a focus on quantum monetary science, since 1985 (consultancy, innovation, investment). He pursued studies in social science in Berlin, Tokyo, New York and Jerusalem. His recent books are Economics as Heuristics and New Economics (2011); New Ethical Economics Science (2012); Monetary Wave Theory (2013);Global Wave Energetics (2014). The recent articles are ‘The Monetary Quan-tum/Quantizing Money’ (2012, Monetary Economics eJournal); ‘Sustainable Monetary Agency‘ (DPG, Verhandlungen, Berlin, 2015). He likes biblical poetry and cantorial art.

He focuses on hermeneutics in his article. Hermeneutics is the theory, methodology, and study of interpretation, particularly of written texts, literature, and philosophical or biblical texts. It acts as a guide to understanding the meaning behind communication, looking at context, author intent, and language to determine how to interpret a message accurately. The word is derived from the Greek hermēneuō (meaning “to interpret” or “to explain”), it relates to the Greek god Hermes, the messenger. Exegesis is similar. It is the critical, systematic interpretation and explanation of a text, particularly holy scriptures, to “draw out” its original, intended meaning. It involves analyzing context, grammar, and historical background, rather than reading personal opinions into it or creating a sermon from it. My approach, as Ternyik points out, is the focus on the plain meaning of what is written -what the author wanted us to know, what is called peshat in Hebrew, not lessons that did not cross the author’s mind, but lessons that commentators want us to see in what he wrote, called derash.

This is what he wrote:

This paper examines Israel Drazin’s contributions to the study of rabbinic hermeneutics, with particular attention to his analyses of Targum Onkelos, his historiographical critique of medieval exegesis, and his framing of Maimonidean rationalism as a central strand of Jewish intellectual history. Drazin’s work challenges assumptions about the uniformity of rabbinic interpretation and argues for a historically grounded, philologically precise understanding of Jewish exegetical traditions. This study situates Drazin within contemporary Jewish Studies discourse and evaluates the methodological implications of his approach.

Israel Drazin’s Rabbinic Hermeneutics

Introduction

Israel Drazin’s scholarship represents a sustained attempt to reconfigure the study of rabbinic hermeneutics by foregrounding the historical, linguistic, and philosophical contexts in which Jewish interpretive traditions developed. His work challenges the assumption that rabbinic exegesis constitutes a monolithic or internally consistent system. Instead, he argues that rabbinic interpretation is a layered, evolving discourse shaped by competing intellectual currents. Central to Drazin’s project is his analysis of Targum Onkelos, which he treats not as a passive translation but as an active participant in the formation of rabbinic thought. His broader corpus—including studies of Maimonides and his “Unusual Bible Interpretations” series—extends this rationalist orientation and critiques the retrospective imposition of mystical or homiletical frameworks onto earlier texts.

Targum Onkelos as Rabbinic Hermeneutics

Drazin’s most influential contribution lies in his multi-volume analysis of Targum Onkelos. He argues that the Targum’s reputation for literalism is misleading; the text contains “thousands of deviations from the Masoretic Text, both blatant and subtle,” each reflecting deliberate interpretive choices rather than translational necessity.¹ These deviations include systematic avoidance of anthropomorphism, terminological substitutions, and paraphrastic expansions. For Drazin, such features reveal a coherent theological program aligned with early rabbinic rationalism.

Drazin’s comparative method—juxtaposing Onkelos with Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Neofiti, and the Fragment-Targums—demonstrates that Targumic literature reflects a spectrum of interpretive strategies.² This diversity undermines the assumption that the Targumim represent a unified tradition and instead positions them as dynamic, contextually embedded works. Drazin also highlights halakhic implications, noting where Targumic renderings diverge from later rabbinic legal formulations.³ In doing so, he situates the Targumim as active contributors to the formation of rabbinic discourse.

Historiographical Critique: Nachmanides and the Medieval Turn

A key component of Drazin’s hermeneutical framework is his critique of medieval exegetes, particularly Nachmanides. Drazin argues that Nachmanides was the first major figure to read mysticism, halakhah, and aggadah into Onkelos—interpretive layers absent from earlier commentators such as Rashi and Ibn Ezra.⁴ This historiographical claim challenges the retrospective projection of kabbalistic or homiletical frameworks onto late antique texts.

By demonstrating that pre-Nachmanidean authorities did not mine Onkelos for theological or mystical content, Drazin argues that much of what later tradition assumes to be inherent in the Targum is in fact the product of medieval hermeneutical innovation.⁵ This insight has significant implications for the study of rabbinic literature, as it underscores the need to distinguish between early interpretive practices and later theological overlays.

Maimonidean Rationalism and the Genealogy of Rabbinic Thought

Drazin’s engagement with Maimonides further illuminates his broader historiographical project. He situates Maimonides not as an anomalous rationalist but as a representative of a longstanding intellectual current within Judaism—one that privileges philosophical coherence and rejects supernaturalism.⁶ This framing allows Drazin to reinterpret the relationship between rabbinic literature and later mystical traditions, arguing that the latter often represent significant departures from earlier exegetical norms.

Drazin’s reading of Maimonides emphasizes the philosopher’s commitment to Aristotelian metaphysics, negative theology, and the demythologization of biblical narratives.⁷ By foregrounding these elements, Drazin challenges the assumption that mystical or pietistic interpretations reflect the “authentic” rabbinic tradition. Instead, he argues that rationalism has been a persistent, though often marginalized, strand within Jewish intellectual history.

Conclusion

Israel Drazin’s work offers a compelling framework for reexamining the foundations of rabbinic hermeneutics. His analyses of Targum Onkelos, his historiographical critique of medieval exegesis, and his framing of Maimonidean rationalism collectively challenge long-standing assumptions about the nature and development of Jewish interpretive traditions. By foregrounding rationalism as a persistent and underappreciated strand within Jewish intellectual history, Drazin contributes to a more nuanced and historically grounded understanding of rabbinic literature. His scholarship invites further inquiry into the complex interplay between language, philosophy, and interpretation in the formation of Jewish thought.

Bibliography

———, Drazin, Israel. Onkelos on the Torah. 5 vols. Gefen Publishing, 2012–2016.

———. Maimonides: Reason Above All. Gefen Publishing, 2023.

———. Unusual Bible Interpretations. Gefen Publishing, 2015–2020.

FOOTNOTES

  1. Israel Drazin, Onkelos on the Torah, vol. 1 (Gefen Publishing, 2012), xiii.
  2. Ibid., xv–xviii.
  3. Ibid., xxii.
  4. Israel Drazin, Unusual Bible Interpretations: Exodus (Gefen Publishing, 2015), 4–6.
  5. Ibid., 7.
  6. Israel Drazin, Maimonides: Reason Above All (Gefen Publishing, 2023), 12–18.
  7. Ibid., 33–45.

 

Stephen I. Ternyik

May 6, 2026