1 Vayera (Genesis 18, 1 – 22, 24) – the story of Sodom and Gomorrah
The Talmudic rabbis compared Abraham as the spiritual father of the Jewish people with Noah. I want to cite two such rabbinic sources that are sensitive to the humanistic ideal…
Lech Lecha (Genesis 12, 1 – 17, 27) – the choosing of Abraham
Seemingly, the story of Abraham in the Hebrew Bible begins with the command lech lecha, “go for yourself” (Genesis 12, 1) in which Abraham is commanded by God to leave…
3 Noah (Genesis 6, 9 – 11, 32) – the Biblical account of the tower of Babel
The obvious question that arises in relation to the Biblical account of the tower of Babel is - what is the sin or wrongdoing that the builders of the tower…
The Hebrew Bible – Monotheism or Monolatry?
A friend of mine, familiar with my argument in my book on the Hebrew Bible “Reconciling a Contradictory Abraham” that monotheism is not found in the Bible, raised objection from…
On the Purpose and Nature of Religious Language
On an internet forum, a person who defines himself as an atheist argued that without making metaphysical claims it can be argued that the Torah (the 5 Books of Moses)…
Does Judaism Have Dogmas? A Critique of “The Limits of Orthodox Theology” – a response to Rabbi Marc B. Shapiro
DOES JUDAISM HAVE DOGMAS? A Critique of “The Limits of Orthodox Theology” - a response to Rabbi Marc B. Shapiro Introduction Maimonides (the great legal scholar and philosopher of the…
The Anti-Theological Nature of Biblical Faith and Theology in the Context of the Biblical Culture
My main argument in my book on the Hebrew Bible “Reconciling a Contradictory Abraham” concerns the nature of Biblical faith and theology. I argue that the Bible from a literary…
The meaning of the fast of Tisha B’Av
Tisha B’Av, the ninth of Av (the 5th month of the Jewish calendar), is a day of national mourning in the Jewish tradition - and, is marked by a full…
The importance of Purim
There are two teachings in the Jewish tradition in relation to Purim that are striking. The first teaching concerns the name Yom Hakippurim, which in Hebrew literally means “like Purim”.…
Bechukotai (Leviticus 26, 3 – 27, 34) – the silence of the Hebrew Bible regarding life after death
The Torah reading of Bechukotai contains two distinct parts and there is seemingly no relation between the parts. The first part, chapter 26, is blessings and curses promising material reward…