Alex Israel’s new book on II Kings follows his book on the first half of the book of Kings, called I Kings. Both are excellent, easy to read, very thorough, very informative. The Book of Kings was broken into two parts because the Greek translation of the book around 200 BCE divided the book in [...]
Strange ideas of Nachmanides His notion concerning the Sanctity of Israel[1] The biblical portion Ki Tavo, Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8, mentions laws that Israelites were expected to observe when they entered Canaan, later called Israel. This affords us an opportunity to discuss the sanctity of the land of Israel. Many [...]
To Unify a Nation By MK Rabbi Dov Lipman Urim Publications, 2014, 96 pages ISBN 978-965-524-148-8 In this short volume, member of the Israeli Kenesset (MK) Dov Lipman describes many ways to improve Israeli society and unify divergent groups in Israel. Lipman is an Orthodox rabbi. His ideas are helpful and necessary and [...]
Review by Israel Drazin Scenes from Village Life By Amos Oz Translated by Nicholas de Lange Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011, 182 pages Amos Oz is a great writer. He writes in Hebrew, and his books are translated into English. He is considered one of the top three Israeli writers. This book, [...]
Why does the Bible require Israelites to treat Canaanites brutally? By Israel Drazin The Torah appears to lack respect for Canaanites and seems to order that they be mistreated. In Deuteronomy 7:2, for example, the Torah states: “You must smite them, utterly destroy them; make no covenant with them, and [...]
Review by Israel Drazin Marriage and Divorce in the Jewish State Israel’s Civil War By Susan M. Weiss & Netty C. Gross-Horowitz Brandeis University Press, 2013, 218 pages In 1953, the Israeli government acquiesced to far right religious elements in the state and enacted the restrictive Rabbinic Courts Jurisdiction Law, [...]
