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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 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 [...]
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 [...]
