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…
I want to discuss here one of the most important Talmudic sources, in my view - a source that reflects a very profound understanding of psychology. The source in the…
The essence of Judaism as a religion, in my conception, is not faith in a philosophic sense (the adopting of correct philosophic propositions) and not ritual or law but moral…
In my view, widespread throughout the orthodox Jewish world (modern and ultra-orthodox) is an anti-democratic and anti-pluralistic approach characterized by a lack of mutual respect and lack of tolerance toward…
The term democracy literally means rule (or authority) of the people. But, democracy is not just a political system of government by the people, or by elected representatives of the…
Rava was one of the great rabbis of the Talmudic period. While Maimonides (who lived in the 12th century) stands out as the great systematic philosopher of the Jewish tradition,…
The term orthodox is a Latin term not indigenous to the Jewish tradition, representing an influence of Christianity; and, literally means correct doctrine implying that religion requires correct doctrine in…
The obvious question from a literary point of view regarding the story of the binding of Isaac (Genesis 22, 1-19) in the Hebrew Bible arises in contrast with the previous…
In my opinion, the Hebrew Bible, regardless of religious assumptions (without assuming that the Hebrew Bible is Divinely revealed or inspired), is the greatest and most influential piece of literature…
Background on Judaism I will first describe the nature of traditional Judaism here only in a factual and descriptive sense - without addressing ideological issues at all. Afterwards, I will…