By Israel Drazin The following are some comments on the portions Achrei Mot – Kedoshim, Leviticus 16:1 - 20:27. Leviticus 16 describes a Yom Kippur (the tenth day of the seventh Hebrew month) ceremony when the priest is told to take two male goats. He casts lots to determine what [...]
By Israel Drazin All religions have antiquated practices that are vestiges of meaningful ancient practices, but are not useful today because of changes in modern behavior. The brief Jewish ceremony of Zimmum is an example. Orthodox Jews consider meals reminders of the service on the ancient temple altar. Thus eating [...]
By Israel Drazin The Torah is frequently unclear; both the meaning of some words and legal requirements are obscure. This has led to differences in opinions and the acceptance of strange ideas. The word tazria in Leviticus 12:2 is a good example. It literally means “brings forth seed”: “If [...]
By Israel Drazin Samson Raphael Hirsh, Abraham ibn Ezra, Arnold Ehrlich, and Maimonides have what some people might consider unusual even surprising interpretations of the biblical portion Shemini, Leviticus 9:1-11:47, such as the following. Abraham ibn Ezra, Samson Raphael Hirsh, and many others noted that the Torah uses the numbers seven [...]
Review by Israel Drazin Festival of Freedom Essays on Pesah and the Haggadah By Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Ktav Publishing House, 2006, 206 pages This is the sixth of so-far eleven posthumous writings assembled, edited, and published by The Toras Horav Foundation based on writings the famed Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik [...]
Review by Israel Drazin Vision and Leadership Reflections on Joseph and Moses By Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Ktav Publishing House, 2013, 239 pages This is the latest of the so-far eleven posthumous writings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (1903-1993) based on writings he did not publish. This one contains a dozen essays [...]
By Israel Drazin Rashi’s grandson Rashbam, Maimonides, and Arnold Ehrlich have what some people might consider unusual even surprising interpretations of the biblical portion Tzav, Leviticus 6:1-8:36. The following are few of them. Why did the Torah require that the fire of the sacrifice burn on the altar all night in [...]
Review by Israel Drazin And From There You Shall Seek By Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Ktav Publishing House, 2008, 230 pages This is the tenth volume published after Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s death (1903-1993). Most of these posthumous books are based on writings he did not publish; however this volume is an English [...]
By Israel Drazin Among many good ideas, C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) offers readers an interesting concept about heaven and hell in his dream/parable “The Great Divorce.” He reveals that heaven is not a state of mind, but hell is. Heaven is what is real on earth. People who see life for what it [...]
By Israel Drazin Abraham ibn Ezra. Joseph Bechor Shor, and Arnold Ehrlich have what some people would consider unusual interpretations of the biblical portion Vayikra, Leviticus 1:1-5:26. The following are few of them. Ehrlich: Many didactic sermons have been delivered to explain why the Hebrew text of Vayikra begins [...]
Review by Israel Drazin Vision from the Prophet and Counsel from the Elders By Rabbi Hayyim Angel OU Press, 2013, 368 pages This scholarly, very readable, and informative book by a teacher of rabbinical students and advanced undergraduates at Yeshiva University is a superb book for anyone of any religion who wants to [...]
By Israel Drazin The biblical portions of Vayakeil and Pekudei, Exodus 35:1- 40:38, have many biblical laws and a host of descriptions of the ancient tabernacle, the Mishkan, used by the Israelites during their forty-year desert wanderings. I will discuss the Sabbath and the Cherubim. Why does the Torah single out [...]
By Israel Drazin The Jewish iconoclast Arnold B. Ehrlich (1848-1919) offered unusual thought-provoking, sometimes disturbing, Bible interpretations on Exodus 30-33 in his book Mikra Ki-Pheshuto (The Bible According to its Literal Meaning). He attempts to show here that the ancient Israelites were very superstitious and that at least certain parts [...]
By Israel Drazin Many Bible commentators noted that the biblical portion Tetzaveh (Exodus 27:20-30:10) is the only biblical portion from the beginning of Exodus to the end of the five books of Moses that does not mention Moses. Many explanations for this phenomenon have been offered. The Vilna Gaon, for [...]
By Israel Drazin In Genesis 26:4 and 5, God tells the patriarch Isaac that he will give him many descendants and the land of Canaan, and that people will bless them “because Abraham listened to my voice and kept my charge, commandments, statutes, and laws.” Leaving aside the issue of [...]
By Israel Drazin The Valentine’s Day Massacre occurred in Strasbourg on the day that people show love, on February 14, 1349. This was when the Black Plague, which probably started in China or central Asia, was carried to Europe by rats on merchant ships and created the most devastating pandemic [...]
By Israel Drazin The Jewish iconoclast Arnold B. Ehrlich (1848-1919) offered two unusual and highly controversial Bible interpretations on Exodus 25 in his book Mikra Ki-Pheshuto (The Bible According to its Literal Meaning) which will disturb many religious people. Exodus 25 begins an extensive description of the tabernacle [...]
The Dawn By Yoram Hazony Shalem Press, 2000, 312 pages Subtitled “Political Teachings of the Book of Esther,” The Dawn is one of the best commentaries written on the biblical book. Homiletical imaginative midrashic commentaries are legion, including a view that Esther was actually ugly but God caused King Ahashverosh to be fascinated and [...]
By Israel Drazin While it seems that the Bible wanted to teach people the truth and proper behavior, it was impossible to move people to change quickly. If the Torah would have told ancient people that they must give up sacrifices for God clearly doesn’t need them and that they do [...]
By Israel Drazin Obscurities People think of the Bible as a book of instruction, telling people how to act; yet it is frequently obscure. One example among hundreds is Exodus 18:7 that relates that when Moses’ father-in-law Yitro came to visit him in the desert, he bowed and kissed him, and [...]
By Israel Drazin Many religious people accept the teaching that the Bible was a gift from God revealed to human beings. Yet, isn’t it still possible that during millennia when it was copied by hand by scribes no miracles occurred and, as usually happens with humans, errors crept into the text? Is [...]
By Israel Drazin We have been offering some controversial and conventional Jewish Bible interpretations by the iconoclast Arnold B. Ehrlich (1848-1919) from his book Mikra Ki-Pheshuto (The Bible According to its Literal Meaning), the Orthodox Jewish thinker Baruch Epstein (1860-1919) from his commentary Torah Temimah (The Perfect Torah), homiletical views [...]
By Israel Drazin We have been offering some unusual and controversial Bible interpretations that the Jewish iconoclast Arnold B. Ehrlich (1848-1919) placed in his book Mikra Ki-Pheshuto (The Bible According to its Literal Meaning) with the hope that whether readers agree with them or not they will provoke thought. We [...]
By Israel Drazin Dina and I were married 52 years ago by a Hasidic rabbi in Germany. His wife and children were murdered by the Nazis. He remarried a woman whose family was also murdered. At the synagogue services on the Shabbat before our wedding ceremony, when I was called to the [...]
Worship of the Heart By Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Ktav Publishing House, 2003, 197 pages This is one of about a dozen volumes published after Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s death (1903-1993) based on writings he never published. This one, the second of the posthumous volumes, contains ten essays on prayer. He offers his understanding [...]
By Israel Drazin We have been offering some unusual and controversial Bible interpretations that the Jewish iconoclast Arnold B. Ehrlich (1848-1919) placed in his book Mikra Ki-Pheshuto (The Bible According to its Literal Meaning) with the hope that whether readers agree with them or not they will provoke thought. We [...]
By Israel Drazin We have been offering some unusual and controversial Bible interpretations that the Jewish iconoclast Arnold B. Ehrlich (1848-1919) placed in his book Mikra Ki-Pheshuto (The Bible According to its Literal Meaning) with the hope that whether readers agree with them or not they will provoke thought. We [...]
By Israel Drazin We have been offering some unusual and controversial Bible interpretations that the Jewish iconoclast Arnold B. Ehrlich (1848-1919) placed in his book Mikra Ki-Pheshuto (The Bible According to its Literal Meaning) with the hope that whether readers agree with them or not they will provoke thought. We [...]
By Israel Drazin We have been offering some unusual and controversial Bible interpretations that the Jewish iconoclast Arnold B. Ehrlich (1848-1919) placed in his book Mikra Ki-Pheshuto (The Bible According to its Literal Meaning) with the hope that whether readers agree with them or not they will provoke thought. We will [...]
Family Redeemed By Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Ktav Publishing House, 2000, 207 pages This is one of about a half dozen volumes published after Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik death (1903-1993) based on writings he never published. This one, the first of the posthumous volumes, contains six essays that focus on family relationships. [...]
