17 08, 2013

Surprising facts about Ethiopian Jews

By |2013-08-17T23:37:12-07:00August 17th, 2013|Book Reviews|

The Koren Ethiopian Haggada Journey to Freedom Edited by Rabbi Menachem Waldman Koren Publishers, 2011, 229pages ISBN 978-965-301-292-9   This is an interesting book that introduces readers to the history of Ethiopian Jews,[1] the brutal treatment they endured for centuries, their culture, and the remarkable fact that they maintained the Jewish religion as mandated by [...]

5 08, 2013

More on the Oral Law

By |2013-08-09T05:52:13-07:00August 5th, 2013|Thoughts|

                                                                                                 By Israel Drazin   The Oral Torah is made up of laws that were developed after the Hebrew Bible, the Torah, was completed. The changes were made by Pharisees and later by rabbis. These changes are called Oral Torah.[1] So many changes were made that Judaism today is not Torah Judaism [...]

29 05, 2013

Shelach 2 – Unusual Interpretations 28-2

By |2013-06-02T13:14:49-07:00May 29th, 2013|Thoughts|

                                                                                  By Israel Drazin   The following are more surprising interpretations of the biblical portion Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41) that raise interesting ideas concerning interpreting the Torah.   Why does the Bible change people’s names? Why does the Bible state that Moses changed Hosea’s name to Yehoshua, the only change in Hebrew is an [...]

26 05, 2013

A superb history of the development of rabbinic Judaism and the oral law

By |2013-06-02T06:27:00-07:00May 26th, 2013|Book Reviews|

The Sages Character, Context & Creativity Volume 3: The Galilean Period Translated by Ilana Kurshan By Rabbi Binyamin Lau Maggid Books, 2013, 387 pages   In three very well-written, comprehensive, informative, and engrossing volumes, Binyamin Lau, a highly respected Orthodox rabbi with a PhD, introduces his readers to the history of rabbinic Judaism, and the [...]

15 03, 2011

An Orthodox rabbi challenges Jews to develop the Oral Law and address modern problems

By |2011-03-15T09:19:32-07:00March 15th, 2011|Book Reviews, Thoughts|

The Sages Character, Context & Creativity Volume 1: The Second Temple Period Translated by Michael Prawer By Rabbi Binyamin Lau Maggid Books, 2010, 383 pages   Reviewed by Israel Drazin   There is a tradition that God commanded the Oral Law at Sinai. Some Jews take the statement literally. Others understand that it says that [...]

Go to Top