Behar The destructive aspects of “sin”[1] The idea of “sin” is seemingly found in Leviticus 25:18 and elsewhere. In Leviticus God promises prosperity to people who obey the divine commands: they and only they will “dwell securely on the land.” This verse is generally misunderstood. There are two ways to [...]
Chapter 11 The Jephthah Saga – An Introduction The rather strange often misunderstood saga of Jephthah begins at the end of Judges 10, in verses 17 and 18, continues in chapter 11, and ends in the middle of chapter 12, in verse 7.[1] Seven things are worth noting: [...]
The value of finding the meaning of words and phrases A perfect way to improve one’s knowledge and ability to think is to explore the meaning of words and phrases frequently. Doing so will reveal information you probably do not know and train you to ask basic questions such as, what does [...]
EMOR (Chapter 21:1–24:23) What is Perfection?[1] Deuteronomy 21 states “No male among the seed of Aaron the priest who has a blemish may approach to offer a sacrifice to the Lord …he may not profane my sacred places” (verses 21 and 23). This injunction, seeking “perfection,” includes the prohibition of [...]
Chapter 10 “Minor” Judges This chapter mentions two judges with two sentences about one and three the other, calls them both judges, but does not portray their exploits. 12:8-15 lists an additional three giving two sentences to the first two and three to the last, but, again, without information [...]
Chapter 9 The unexplainable tale of Abimelech Part two Part two is a continuation of part one Irony The author of chapter 9 shows more humor with his irony, such as: Abimelech kills his seventy brothers claiming they were unfit to rule, but he was aided by “thoughtless [...]
Chapter 9 The unexplainable tale of Abimelech Part one More obscurities, witticisms, ironies, mistakes, and a remarkable parable Gideon’s son Abimelech’s story is like a kaleidoscope with multiple forms and colors. Twist the handle one way and a picture appears, turn some more and another view emerges. Gideon dies leaving [...]
KEDOSHIM (Chapters 19:1–20:27) What is Holiness? Leviticus 19:2 describes God commanding: “You must be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.” What is God demanding? While most people think holiness is a special quality they need to add to their behavior, modern scholars accept the ancient understanding in [...]
The biblical law to count weeks, while Jews count days[1] The ancient religious Jewish group called Pharisees, who existed from about 320 BCE until 70 CE, and the rabbis who followed them changed all of the biblical holidays and practices in some ways. Let’s look at the law mandating counting, called in Hebrew [...]
Kedoshim Can one love another as one’s self?[1] The well-known requirement of Leviticus 19:18 – “Love thy neighbor as yourself” – is difficult to understand and impossible to implement. A similar mandate is repeated in 19:34, regarding non-Israelites, “Love him as yourself.” Significant also is the command, repeated an unusual 36 [...]
When is Passover? The question “When is Passover?” seems as simple as the humorous question, “Who is buried in Grant’s tomb?” Everyone with the slightest bit of Jewish education would answer that it begins on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Nissan and ends seven days later in Israel or eight [...]
Chapter 8 Biblical irony and obscurities Chapter 8 concludes the three chapter tale of judge Gideon. It affords us an opportunity, among much else, to see how the Bible uses irony and obscurities.[1] Gideon successfully defeated the marauding Midianites. While chapters 6 and 7 depict fearful Gideon [...]
Ibn Ezra’s “Secret of the Twelve” Did Moses write the entire Torah? Do traditional Jewish commentators differ on the subject? Who wrote the story of the death of Moses? The twelve verses of Deuteronomy chapter 34 tell the story of the death of Moses. The introductory four verses narrate how God told [...]
ACHAREI MOT (Chapters 16:1–18:30) Judaism changed radically Leviticus 16 deals with the elaborate Tabernacle rituals of atonement performed by the High Priest on Yom Hakippurim—a plural name, Day of Atonements. The priest brought sacrifices to atone for misdeeds that he, his family, and Israelites did; hence the plural form. As [...]
Chapter 7 Gideon and the 300 This chapter is a work of art. The author presents a story containing several themes: the number three, the consequences of fear, and the question, is God involved in what we do? A careful reading of the Bible reveals that despite it apparently [...]
Why Was The First Passover Different From All Other Passovers? The Israelites’ first Passover, celebrated in Egypt just prior to the exodus and described in Exodus 12:1–11, was radically different from the biblically mandated holiday observed after the exodus. Exodus 12, which describes the Egyptian ceremony, raises many questions. (1) Why does the [...]
Metzora What constitutes a successful life?[1] People cannot evaluate whether they lived a good or bad life until they die. Miriam is an example. Leviticus 12–14 speaks about the metzora, a disease that Jewish sages in the Babylonian Talmud, Arachin 15b and other sources, say was caused by slander. [...]
Chapter 6 Gideon: The hesitant judge who struggled Chapter 6-8 introduces readers to the judge Gideon. In chapter 6 he has several experiences which could be taken at face value and understood as supernatural events or as the internal struggles of an anxious man. The Israelites lived in peace after [...]
Ibn Ezra on Esther 4-6 Esther’s chapters 4-6 describe the Judean[1] exiles’ reactions to Haman’s decree that allowed Persian citizens to murder every Judean on 13 Adar.[2] According to Jewish tradition, which is not stated in the book of Esther, the decree was promulgated in mid-Nisan, some ten months before the [...]
The origin of reading a portion from the prophets in synagogues[1] The Shabbat and holiday Torah reading service in synagogues is followed by a recitation from one of the books of the prophets and is called the haphtarah, or haphtarot in the plural. The name means conclusion,” and is so called because [...]
Tazria Abarbanel’s interpretation of the Naaman tale[1] Shabbat and holiday synagogue Torah readings are followed by a recitation from one of the books of the prophets. The reading is called haphtarah or haphtarot in the plural. The name means conclusion,” and is so called because it follows and ends the Torah [...]
Chapter 5 Biblical Poetry Chapter 5 is the poetical version of the Deborah story. Many scholars[1] are convinced that it is one of the oldest parts of the Bible, and it was composed prior to the prose version in chapter 4. Like the poetic version of Joshua’s battle in Joshua [...]
Ibn Ezra on Esther - Part 1 Ibn Ezra wrote two commentaries on the biblical book Esther. The first published was a short version. His long version was not printed until about 150 years ago.[1] Both contain clever interpretations of the Esther drama. However, he also included some legendary material to add spice [...]
Shemini Why keep kosher?[1] The eleventh chapter of Leviticus specifies some, but not all, of the basic kosher laws, which were later explained and elaborated upon by the rabbis in what they called the “Oral Law.” The physical characteristics of animals – split hoofs and bringing up its cud – [...]
Esther in the Legends People invented many legends, called Midrashim, about the story of Esther. This is not surprising. The biblical tale raises a host of questions about the people in the book, their intentions and actions. The following legends were taken from Louis Ginzberg’s masterful seven-volume “The Legends of the Jews.”[1] [...]
Purim is not observed as mandated in the Bible I described in my book “Mysteries of Judaism”[1] that no Jewish holiday is observed today as mandated in the Bible. The rabbis changed every one of them. Many of them had to be changed because their basic observance was a sacrifice, and sacrifices [...]
Does God know us? The views of some Jewish philosophers Many Jews are convinced that Jews are judged by their behavior not by their beliefs. They can believe what they want as long as they harm no one.[1] Thus it is not surprising that there were famous Jewish [...]
Chapter 4, part two When can we ignore laws? I generally avoid discussing technical matters but I am making an exception here because it is not that technical, the issue is mentioned in part one of chapter 4, and I give what I think are interesting examples in this part. [...]
Chapter 4 Was Deborah, the only female judge, judged properly? Deborah and Samson are the most famous of the fourteen[1] or fifteen judges, and both are unusual, Deborah because she was a woman and Samson because of his unique un-judge-like behavior and super-human powers. The story of Deborah Judges [...]
TZAV (Chapter 6:1–8:36) DOES GOD WANT SACRIFICES?[1] Much of Leviticus focuses on sacrifices. After the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, when sacrifices could no longer be offered, the rabbis said that the synagogue and prayer services would take the place of sacrifices. Many individuals today agree with [...]
