By Israel Drazin Gersonides’ books are not easy to read, but they are very thoughtful. He was one of several great Jewish rationalistic philosophers, along with Maimonides and Abraham ibn Ezra, but he was not as deep a thinker as these two men. But he was far more intellectual than most people. [...]
By Israel Drazin It is well-worth spending time reading the brilliant Bible commentary of Abraham ibn Ezra even though he frequently wrote his comments in a very brief manner, a manner that some people will find difficult to understand. He was a Bible commentator, philosopher, physician, and scientist, who was born in [...]
Joshua Chapter 12 Chapter 12 is either the end of the first part of the book Joshua that describes the Israelite conquests or an introduction to the second part which deals with the division of these lands; there are scholars who take both views. The problem is that chapter 11 clearly ends [...]
The Torah doesn’t expect people to obey its laws By Israel Drazin I encourage everyone to read Professor Berman’s very informative, thought-provoking article “What is This Thing Called Law? The Jewish legal tradition and discontents.” It is found at http://mosaicmagazine.com/essay/2013/12/what-is-this-thing-called-law/ Professor Berman offers readers a well-documented discussion on the [...]
Spinoza, Correspondence By Baruch de Spinoza Forgotten Books, 2008, 164 pages Whether one agrees or not with the ideas of the Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Jewish origin, Baruch de Spinoza, also called Bento de Espinosa and Benedictus de Spinoza (1632-1677), one must admit that his views are thought-provoking. They made an enormous impression upon [...]
SHEMOT (Chapters 1:1–6:1) The Bible is filled with obscurities I am not going to explain a biblical section or supply answers this week as I usually do. Instead, I want to alert you to a biblical phenomenon: contrary to what most people think, the Bible is filled with obscure passages; [...]
A very good instructive series of books for children Carole P. Roman Since it is unfortunately well-known that US citizens of all ages know very little about other counties and are mocked for this ignorance outside the US, Carole P. Roman’s “If You were Me and Lived [...]
A Guide for the Perplexed A Novel By Dara Horn W. W. Norton &Co, 2013, 342 pages People who read this well-written novel will enjoy the plots in this story and learn much about the history and love of literature, ancient and modern; rational philosophy, such as do people have free will and [...]
The Two Destinies By Wilkie Collins I encourage fiction lovers to read the classical writings that they can obtain free from sources such as amazon kindle because the copyrights on this literature have expired. Many of these books are fun to read and good literature, well written, suspenseful, opening a world [...]
Chapter 11 Part 2 There are, not surprisingly, other issues in chapter 11 that are worth paying attention to. The chapter speaks about (1) the northern tribes organizing in a confederation to defeat Joshua, (2) their defeat by a surprise attack by Joshua who totally destroyed them, and (3) the Israelites [...]
Chapter 11 Part 1 Joshua was successful – probably just partially – in conquering some Canaanite kingdoms in the south. While apparently wanting to do so anyway, he was forced to take the initiative because these kingdoms joined together to attack his forces. Seeing Joshua’s successes and, like the southern cities, [...]
VAYECHEE (Chapters 47:28–50:26) Jacob’s last days – An example for us?[1] Sermonic explanation of unusual beginning The final Torah portion in Genesis not only commences in the middle of chapter 47, but in Torah scroll there is no customary space separating this portion from the one before it. Rashi [...]
Man’s Search for Meaning By Victor Frankl This is a significant book. Thousands who reviewed it agree that this is so. It has been voted as one of the ten most influential books. It gave a sense of sanity to many people and saved many lives. It is thought provoking and will change the [...]
Joshua Chapter 10 Part 2 Frightened by the initial Israelite battle successes, their encroachment upon Canaanite territory, that the Gibeonites joined the Israelites, and in self defense, the Canaanite tribes join the king of Jerusalem,[1] Adonei Tzedek.[2] Their initial attack would be against the Gibeonites who beseeched Joshua’s help. The Canaanites [...]
VAYIGASH (Chapters 44:18–47:27) Missing or Changed Information in Scripture[1] Many people read the Bible searching for moral lessons but do not appreciate the literary value of the Bible. I will discuss one characteristic of biblical writings. The Bible has many examples of statements that were supposed to have been [...]
Chapter 10 Part 1 Did the Sun Stand Still for Joshua at Gibeon?[1] Joshua 10 narrates an astounding story. Joshua and the Israelite forces fought against five southern Canaanite kingdoms and defeated them. Then Joshua sang a song praising God for causing the sun to stand still over the city [...]
Jeremiah The Fate of a Prophet By Binyamin Lau Maggid Books, 2013, 230 pages It is extremely difficult if not impossible to understand the life, thinking, and writings of the late seventh and early sixth century BCE prophet Jeremiah without reading this book by Rabbi Dr. Binyamin Lau, a highly respected and [...]
Chapter 9 Part 3 Two versions of one tale We saw in Joshua chapter 8 several examples of Bible editor mingling more than a single version of an event and, by doing so, creating a difficult to decipher mixed text. Chapter 9 is another instance. Many scholars[1] see two tales in [...]
Chapter 8 Part 3 Did the Bible intend that Shiloh should be Israel’s capital and spiritual center? It seems that the Bible considered the Shechem area, including Shiloh and Beth-el, as the focal point for Israel’s capital and sanctuary. The Bible repeatedly highlights the spiritual significance of Shechem and its nearby [...]
Chapter 9 Part 2 In part 1 of this chapter I mentioned briefly that Maimonides felt that God wanted the Israelites to offer the Canaanites peace before attacking them. This may not be true. I also mentioned briefly that the ancients, including Jews, felt that they are unable to quash vows. I will [...]
The following is a brief version of an excerpt from “What’s Beyond the Bible Text” by Rabbi Dr. Stanley Wagner and me that was published in September 2013. We usually put three articles for each biblical portion, generally discussing thought-provoking subjects that people will not find elsewhere. This week’s essay is from Mikeitz, Genesis [...]
Chapter 9 Part 1 Was Joshua Acting Morally When He Enslaved the Gibeonites?[1] Joshua’s behavior toward the Gibeonites in Joshua 9 is another chapter that is difficult to understand unless it is read in a rational manner. The chapter relates that the inhabitants of Gibeon, a collection of [...]
Chapter 8 Part 2 More than one version of a story in Scripture There are quite a few instances in the Hebrew Bible where more than one version of a command or story is told. For example, the only way that the tale of the kidnapping of Joseph[1] and his sale into slavery [...]
The following is a brief version of an excerpt from “What’s Beyond the Bible Text” by Rabbi Dr. Stanley Wagner and me that was published in September 2013. We usually put three articles for each biblical portion, generally discussing thought-provoking subjects that people will not find elsewhere. This week’s essay is from VAYEISHEV (Chapters 37:1–40:23). [...]
Chapter 8 Part 1 Can We Rely on God to Perform Miracles?[1] Joshua 8 tells an unusual tale. Joshua assumed leadership of the Israelites upon Moses’ death. He led them across the Jordan River into the promised land of Canaan. He conducted them in one successful conflict against [...]
Chapter 7, Part 2 Why are innocents killed for another’s misdeed? Why were innocents killed because of Achan’s theft? Joshua 7 describes how Achan disobeyed Joshua’s command that Israelites may not take spoils from the city Jericho, how thirty-six Israelites died in the battle against the city Ai because of [...]
Chapter 7 Part 1 What Gave Joshua the Right to Kill Achan in a Non-judicial Fashion?[1] Chapter 7 of the biblical book Joshua recounts a rather remarkable tale of theft by a man called Achan and his hasty execution by Joshua and the Israelite nation for his thievery. It is [...]
The following is a brief version of an excerpt from “What’s Beyond the Bible Text” by Rabbi Dr. Stanley Wagner and me that was published in September 2013. We usually put three articles for each biblical portion, generally discussing thought-provoking subjects that people will not find elsewhere. This week’s essay is from VAYISHLACH (Chapters [...]
Chapter 6, part 2 I described various opinions about the “miracle” of the fall of the walls of Jericho and included some details. The following are more details. An understanding of how the Bible uses these details enhances our comprehension and appreciation of other parts of Scripture. Jericho’s conquest and the [...]
Joshua Chapter 5- part 4 Circumcision We mentioned circumcision several times in this chapter. The following are some facts about it. Circumcision’s origin is not Jewish Some scholars[1] point to Exodus 4:24-26 where either Moses or his son is being attacked by an unknown source and Moses’s wife [...]
