There are many disagreements about four ancient Jewish institutions: the Sanhedrin, the Men of the Great Assembly, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees. Put differently, no one knows the truth about these institutions, even though that for many Jews, the subject is profoundly important. Sanhedrin Jewish tradition supposes that the institution of the Sanhedrin began [...]
Tradition mandates that Jews should read the biblical book Kohelet, also spelt Koheleth and Qohelet, called Ecclesiastes in English, during the holiday of Sukkot. Both the Hebrew and English names mean “collector” or “collection.” We do not know why this mandate was made. Some say that since Sukkot is a very happy holiday, we need [...]
People who pay attention to what they read realize that none of the Jewish holidays are practiced today as the Torah mandates. The rabbis made extensive changes in Torah laws because of changes in human circumstances. I discuss this in detail in my first “Mysteries of Judaism” book. The following is from this book. What [...]
In my book “Unusual Bible Interpretations Jonah and Amos,” I raised problem areas in the book of Jonah in my introduction and answered them in the pages that followed. Here are some but not all of the problem areas. Some of the questions are: Who was Jonah? When did he live? Is he mentioned elsewhere [...]
Two Talmudic sages lived around 130 CE and disagreed on how to interpret the Bible. Rabbi Akiva won out, and Rashi, Nachmanides, and most ancient Bible commentators as well as most Midrashim follow his view. Others, such as Rashi’s grandson Rashbam, Abraham ibn Ezra, and Maimonides interpret the Torah as Rabbi Ishmael. Rabbi [...]
Like Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur does not exist in the Bible. It replaces another day known as Yom Hakippurim. Yom Kippur is singular, “day of atonement,” while Yom Hakippurim is plural, “day of atonements.” The biblical Yom Hakippurim is mentioned in Leviticus 16:29–31, 23:27–32, and Numbers 29:7–11. No work was permitted on this day, special sacrifices [...]
Many people, secular and religious, of different cultures and worldviews, have attempted to calculate the age of the world. There is no agreement between them, simply because it is an impossible task. Christians,[1] Muslims, and Jews have tried to do the calculation based on a literal reading of the Bible and have come up with [...]
“Judaism Reclaimed: Philosophy and Theology in the Torah,” by Shmuel Phillips, a rabbi and lawyer with a law degree from the University of London, is a book filled with interesting information inspired by his understanding of the views of Maimonides and Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch. The book has thoughtful articles often prompted by all of [...]
“Genesis According to Methuselah” by Reva Spiro Luxenberg is hilarious. Every page has several funny remarks by Methuselah as he comments on God, heaven, and what God created. I don’t think that I ever read another book that is as clever and as funny as this one. Mark Twain wrote several books about heaven and [...]
Repentance as we know it today is not a biblical concept despite the thinking of many[1] that the prophet Hosea talked about it. Hosea 14:2 states “Shuva Yisrael ad Hashem Elokekha,” “Return Israel to the Lord your God.” Actually, Hosea says in chapter 14 what he said several times in earlier chapters when he also [...]
Deuteronomy 29 relates that Moses reminded the Israelites that when they approached Canaan, “Sihon, king of Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, went out against us in battle; we smote them, and took their land.” These events are detailed in Numbers 21 and Deuteronomy 2 and 3. The battles with Heshbon and Bashan remind us [...]
In 2008, in my first book on Maimonides called “Maimonides: The Exceptional Mind,” I described how ancient Jews had a totally different idea why they were blowing the shofar on Rosh Hashana. Here is some of what I wrote. The Shofar Scares Satan and Keeps Him at Arm’s Length It is absolutely certain that both [...]
I just completed my fourth book called “Mysteries of Judaism,” my 54th book. It is part of a series in which I point out hundreds of facts about Judaism that most people do not know. While most of these facts are surprising to many people, Jews and non-Jews, they should not threaten readers. I am [...]
Although there is no proof that other humans existed, it is reasonable to suppose that Adam, Eve, and their three sons were not the only humans during the early post creation years.[1] One of the biblical writing methods, is not to reveal everything, to leave it to the reader to figure it out. We can [...]
Professor Chaim Waxman, a prominent and highly respected sociologist of contemporary Orthodoxy, has made a superb assessment of the history, development, and current and future situation of Orthodoxy in his relatively short but comprehensive 178-page book, “Social Change and Halakhic Evolution in American Orthodoxy,” with 48 additional pages of bibliography and index. Readers will receive [...]
It is basic psychology that people cannot understand a subject unless they understand its opposite. In fact, this was the first lesson I learnt at Johns Hopkins in my first psychology class. Peter Kamara’s “Ancient Roman Mythology” contains a description of a Roman creation myth. It is interesting to read the striking similarities between the [...]
The recently published book “Presidential Misconduct,” edited by James M. Banner, Jr, is eye-opening. It gives us a new perspective of today’s events. It is the only comprehensive study of American presidents’ misconduct. It contains essays on all of the presidents from George Washington through Barak Obama by leading presidential historians. The historians reveal that [...]
I received this nice review of my book from Washbookreview.com. Nachmanides: An Unusual Thinker by Israel Drazin, Gefen Publishing House, US $24.95, Pp 240, June 2018 With at least fifty scholarly works to his credit, Nachmanides — also known as Rabbi Moshe ben Nachmanides — was one of the great Jewish Bible and Talmud commentators [...]
Mark R. Levin’s very informative book “Unfreedom of the Press” may surprise many readers when they discover that the book is filled with eye-opening fascinating information that is written in clear easy-to-read English. Levin covers many interesting subjects relating to the press, newspapers, TV, radio, attacks on the president, and all kinds of communications that [...]
Repentance as we know it today is not a biblical concept despite the thinking of many[1] that the prophet Hosea talked about it. Hosea 14:2 states “Shuva Yisrael ad Hashem Elokekha,” “Return Israel to the Lord your God.” Actually, Hosea says in chapter 14 what he said several times in earlier chapters: stop worshiping idols [...]
The general consensus is that the Hebrew Bible does not mention life after death or even hint that it exists. Yet books such as “The Everyday Bible Commentary Daniel” by John C. Whitcomb argue that the book of Daniel does speak of life after death. Dr. Whitcomb’s book is a Christian theological commentary, that is [...]
Relying on prayer and divine help in daily life and when problems arise and not following the wise advice of Maimonides to use one’s intelligence, study the laws of nature, and act according to these laws, laws created by God, can, and usually does result in tragedy to one’s self, family, friends, and acquaintances. Examples [...]
One of the fundamental principles of Orthodox Judaism is the belief that there is a Written and an Oral Torah, both of which were revealed by God to Moses. Quite a few Orthodox rabbis declare that if a Jew does not accept this teaching, the Jew is not Orthodox and is a rebel, an apicores – [...]
The Lord God is described in the Bible as Y-h-v-h, which is called “the Tetragrammaton,” meaning a four-letter word. Many think the Tetragrammaton is God’s name, but this is not true. It is a description of how God functions in the universe, an abbreviated version of Exodus 3:14. When God first appeared to Moses and [...]
Jews are no different than people of other religions. There is no subject that every Jew accepts. Even rabbis differ in what they think is right. Many Jews reject the notion of the existence of demons and even angels. They feel, like Maimonides, that there is no mention of demons in the Hebrew Bible and [...]
The “Yeshiva world,” is comprised for the most part of schools where far-right rabbis teach Jewish students their view of Judaism, a religion that rejects secular studies as harmful and heretical. Many far-right rabbis respect Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, his code of Jewish laws, but not his philosophical Guide of the Perplexed because it is based [...]
The Fast of 17 Tammuz occurs this year on July 20 which is a Saturday, so the fast is postponed to Sunday July 21, as will be explained below. The Jewish calendar contains a mourning period during the summer months. It begins and ends with fast days, whose precise dates are not based on verifiable [...]
“Maimonides: Between Philosophy and Halakhah: Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s lectures on the Guide of the Perplexed” is interesting because it shows the basic ideas of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s thinking. But readers should not suppose that they will gain an insight into the teachings of Maimonides or even some of his teachings by reading the book. It [...]
It is generally unknown that according to tradition the messiah who will bring peace to the world is not only a descendant of King David, but also from the wicked King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, the later being a rabid worshiper of the idol Baal and murderer of many prophets of the Lord. A brief [...]
The story of Peter Abelard (1079-1142) and Heloise (1095-1163) is considered a great medieval love story. We have still today Abelard’s autobiography and letters between the parties, so we know much but not all of the love story. James Burge’s “Heloise and Abelard” is an interesting easy to read scholarly study. Peter Abelard was a [...]