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…
2 Lech Lecha (Genesis 12, 1 – 17, 27) – the phrase lech lecha and parallel to the story of the binding of Isaac
The Torah reading of Lech Lecha begins (Genesis 12, 1) with God telling Abraham to go (lech lecha) from his country, from his homeland, and from the house of his…
Why is the Torah (the 5 Books of Moses) Sacred for We as Jews? An Orthoprax as Opposed to an Orthodox Approach
In the first part of this article, I want to distinguish between two fundamentally different conceptions of the holiness of the Torah (the 5 Books of Moses) for we as…
1 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…