By Israel Drazin We have been offering some unusual and controversial Bible interpretations that Arnold B. Ehrlich placed in his book Mikra Ki-Pheshuto (The Bible According to its Literal Meaning) with the hope that it will stimulate thought. The following are a few of his comments on the biblical [...]
By Israel Drazin Many people have wrong ideas about the Jewish holiday Hanukkah. The following are a few examples: Hanukkah does not celebrate a victory over Greeks. The Greeks ruled many kingdoms as a result of Alexander’s conquests, such as Egypt and Greece. Judea, the name Israel had at [...]
By Israel Drazin It appears that many ancients and modern people changed their names because of alterations in circumstances, for better or worse, or the hope that circumstances would improve. Examples of hopeful improvements in Judaism include the practice of some Jews changing the names of very sick people with faith that [...]
By Israel Drazin We have been offering some unusual and controversial Bible interpretations that Arnold B. Ehrlich placed in his book Mikra Ki-Pheshuto (The Bible According to its Literal Meaning). The following are a few of his comments on the biblical portion Vayeishev (Genesis 37:1 to 40:23). The parenthetical statements are [...]
By Israel Drazin We have been offering some unusual Bible interpretations that Arnold B. Ehrlich placed in his book Mikra Ki-Pheshuto (The Bible According to its Literal Meaning). Some ideas angered traditionalists. Some people enjoyed reading his views and were stimulated to think more deeply about the biblical text. Others [...]
Genesis 22's well-known story narrates how God tested the patriarch Abraham to determine whether he was willing to go so far as to even slaughter his beloved son Isaac if God instructed him to do so. Abraham passes the test. He is not only willing to sacrifice Isaac, but had to be stopped by [...]
By Israel Drazin Arnold B. Ehrlich placed brilliant interpretations of the Hebrew Bible in his book Mikra Ki-Pheshuto (The Bible According to its Literal Meaning). Some ideas angered traditionalists. The following are a few of his comments on the biblical portion Va’yeizei (Genesis 28:10 to 32:3). 1. Jacob makes a [...]
Proverbs Annotated & Explained By Rabbi Rami Shapiro Jewish Lights Publishing, 2011, 238 pages Readers will benefit from this book whether they read and even studied the biblical book Proverbs before. This is one of more than two dozen books published in the SkyLight Illumination Series in which religious books, or parts of them, [...]
By Israel Drazin In 1986, the Lubavitcher Rebbe requested that I, an American Army General, speak at Army bases about the Seven Noahide Commandments. I did so, and this is a version of that speech. The Bible states that Noah’s generation violated God’s commands. These commands are not mentioned [...]
By Israel Drazin Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888), the author of a still-used and enjoyed Bible commentary, among other books, was a leading Orthodox rabbi in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. His Bible commentary was composed to clarify scripture, draw lessons from it, and show why Orthodox Judaism is superior to the [...]
By Israel Drazin Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, known by the acronym of his name Rashi (1040-1105), is considered by most Jews as the foremost Bible and Talmud commentator. His commentary is well-written and interesting to read. Very little is known about his life. Even the well-known “fact” that he ran a vineyard [...]
The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture By Yoram Hazony Cambridge University Press, 2012, 380 pages Yoram Hazony offers an interpretation of the Hebrew Bible that may initially bother many religious people, but when they think about what he is saying, they may feel that they have gained a deeper understanding and appreciation of Scripture. [...]
By Israel Drazin Genesis 18 through 22 relates much about the patriarch Abraham. The following are some thought on these five chapters. 1. The stories in these sections have parallels in other biblical chapters and books. By comparing the stories, readers can make comparisons and see differences and get a [...]
The Men’s Section Orthodox Jewish Men in an Egalitarian World By Elana Maryles Sztokman Brandeis University Press, 2011, 269 pages This is a superb, well-researched and thoughtful book that investigates how Orthodox Jewish men respond to the new phenomenon of egalitarian religious services. “Every man who makes a decision to join a partnership synagogue [...]
By Israel Drazin Scholar Arnold Ehrlich (1848-1919), author of Mikra Ki-pheshuto, “The Bible Literally,” offered some interesting thoughts about the patriarch Abraham. 1. The Torah doesn’t try to hide the faults of Israelite ancestors. In fact, there is virtually no biblical figure who is described without faults and many biblical [...]
The Emergence of Ethical Man By Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Ktav Publishing House, 2012, 214 pages Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (1903-1993) was and is still considered the leading rabbinical figure of Modern Orthodox Judaism. His writings stressed that Jews must obey Jewish law (halakhah) even though the rule seems anachronistic and harmful, such as [...]
By Israel Drazin Ancient Jews[1] believed that many gods exist but felt that they should only worship y-h-v-h[2] and maintained this notion for hundreds of years, and this fact is found in hundreds of verses in the Hebrew Bible. This is not monotheism, but monolatry. Monotheism is the belief that only [...]
By Israel Drazin Bible readers need to realize that the division of the Bible into chapters and verses is frequently illogical, leading some readers to think that the person or persons who divided the text into chapters and verses was drunk. Take, for example, the very onset of the Bible. Chapter [...]
By Israel Drazin The great scholar Arnold Ehrlich (1848-1919) authored Mikra Ki-pheshuto, “The Bible Literally,” in three Hebrew volumes. His ideas are frequently unconventional, but generally very intelligent and thought provoking. The following are some of his ideas on the Noah flood story and the introductory biblical statements about the patriarch Abraham [...]
Crown of Aleppo The Mystery of the Oldest Bible Codex By H. Tawil & B. Schneider The Jewish Publication Society, 2110, 199 pages Millions kiss the Torah scroll as it is taken around the synagogue during services, but do not know the history of the Torah text, why it is written in a scroll [...]
Alroy: The Prince of the Captivity By Benjamin D’Israeli Dunda Books Classic, 2012, 301 pages Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) was one of the most remarkable public figure of Victorian England. He was an enormously successful prime minister and statesman, and one of the creators of the modern English Conservative party. He was the only Jew [...]
By Israel Drazin Many rabbis teach mystical notions that are untrue. The rabbis are unable to differentiate facts from sometimes startling events in parables and sermons that were invented to teach proper behavior, and they repeat imaginative stories they heard from other rabbis and claim that the events in the parables actually [...]
A Dangerous Method DVD Carl Jung (1875-1961) is known today as a respected psychoanalyst. His father was a protestant minister and Carl maintained a deep interest in religion, spirituality, myths, and even superstition throughout his life. He disagreed with the Sigmund Freud’s theory (1856-1939) that the underlying human drive is sex. Thus, for example, [...]
Jesus, Interrupted Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (and Why We Don’t Know About them) By Bart D. Ehrman HarperOne, 2009, 292 pages Reviewed by Israel Drazin Can knowledgeable people who are convinced that what they read in the Bible is not totally true, who see that many of their coreligionists have [...]
By Israel Drazin Do religious confessions for sins magically erase bad behavior – steal and say words, commit adultery and admit it, and “puff” nothing was stolen and no marriage contract was violated! If not, why confess? Eradicating sins is a significant part of most religions. But people don’t know [...]
In His Mercy Understanding the Thirteen Midot By Rabbi Ezra Bick Maggid Books and Yeshivat Har Etzion, 2011, 131 pages There is an ancient practice that just before and during the Jewish New Year season, many Jews think about their past misdeeds and consider improving. A central part of many synagogue services during the [...]
Torah MiEtzion New Readings in Tanach Devarim By Rabbis E. Bick and Y. Beasley, Editors Maggid Books, 2012, 471 pages This is the second published volume in the five volume set of “Torah MiEtzion.” The first was on Bereishit, Genesis. This one is on the fifth book of the Five Books of Moses, [...]
No Man Knows my History The Life of Joseph Smith By Fawn M. Brodie Vintage Books, 1995, 499 pages, plus a 20 page index This is the second edition of Fawn M. Brodie’s classic 1945 biography of the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith. Brodie is well-known for her other highly respected biographies on Thomas Jefferson, [...]
By Israel Drazin Heaven on Earth By Sadakat Kadri Sadakat Kadri gives readers a good history of Islam from the life of Muhammad to the present. He focuses mostly on the development and changes in the Islamic legal system. Although Kadri doesn’t discuss it, it is interesting to compare the Islamic legal system [...]
The Plot The Secret Story of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion By Will Eisner Introduction by Umberto Eco Two vicious lies about Jews and Judaism resulted in increased anti-Semitism and the butchering of innocent Jews. One is the Blood Libel, an ancient accusation that Jews need to ingest Christian blood as part of [...]
