Abraham
Theology, Identity, and CovenantFriday, February 15, 2013 by David Hartman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
David Hartman, who passed away on Sunday, was among the foremost Jewish theologians of his generation. Here, we reprint some of his thoughts on God and the Jewish people.
It’s All in the AngleFriday, February 1, 2013 by Jack Riemer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In his new collection of essays, ultra-Orthodox rabbi Avi Shafran disputes the scientific worldview on its own terms. But he refuses to acknowledge scientific challenges to Judaism.
2012: A Year in BooksWednesday, January 2, 2013 by D. G. Myers | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Books are dying—everyone says so—but you couldn’t prove it by the Jews. 2012 was a very good year for Jewish books: here are the best 40.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
Two allusions to the story of Abraham make one thing clear: Joseph's getting thrown off the bus. (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:10:18
Inheriting AbrahamTuesday, November 27, 2012 by Jon D. Levenson | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
On August 28, Jon D. Levenson, the Albert A. List Professor of Jewish Studies at Harvard University, spoke with the current class of Tikvah fellows about his latest book, the first volume in the Library of Jewish Ideas: Inheriting Abraham. Here, an edited transcript of the event.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
Did God put Abraham through one test—or 10? (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:12:37
Whose Akedah Was It, Anyhow?Friday, October 26, 2012 by Moshe Sokolow | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Today, October 26, 2012, the world’s Muslims will celebrate `Id al-Adha, commemorating Abraham’s willingness to demonstrate his love of God by sacrificing his son. While most Muslims assume that the son Abraham intended to sacrifice was Ishmael, this was not the unanimous opinion of early Muslims and Qur’anic scholars.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
To go right or to go left—an election decision? No, that's the choice Abraham gave Lot. (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:12:01
Sin, Sin, SinWednesday, August 29, 2012 by Lawrence Grossman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
In the current Hebrew month of repentance, it’s hard not to notice that we live in a culture that takes sin far less seriously than it used to. The formula “mistakes were made” has largely replaced the admission of personal responsibility.
Editors' Picks
Abraham's Magnificent Home Town Jane Arraf, Christian Science Monitor. A British archeologist, returned to Iraq for the first time in a quarter-century, unearths a temple or palace of “breathtaking” size near the Ur of Abraham’s era.
Patriarchs on the Couch Leonard Greenspoon, Bible History Daily. Attempts to subject biblical characters to modern psychoanalysis, which have branded Abraham, Moses, and Samson psychotic, reflect “reckless disregard for millennia of careful exegesis.”
Giving Up on Humanity Ilan Feldman, Klal Perspectives. By failing to reach out to non-Orthodox Jews, says an Orthodox rabbi, "we have sold out on the view of man that was the keystone of Avraham Avinu."
Interfaith Abraham? Jon D. Levenson, Huffington Post. Should an inheritor of Abraham follow the way of Torah, the way of Gospel, or Islamic submission to God? And are they all, underneath, the same way?
One Abraham, or Three? Jon D. Levenson, Wall Street Journal. A shared, "Abrahamic" heritage is supposed to foster reconciliation between Jews, Christians, and Muslims—but bears little relation to the figure of Abraham in any of the three traditions.
Punishment without Crime Gil Student, Torah Musings. If God prophesies to Abraham that his descendants would be enslaved in a foreign land, why does He ultimately punish the Egyptians?
To Each His Abraham Peter Monaghan, Chronicle of Higher Education. In Inheriting Abraham, Bible scholar Jon D. Levenson shows that while Jews, Christians, and Muslims all consider themselves the patriarch's children, they aren't talking about the same Abraham.
Abraham, the Rugged Individualist? Kenneth Hanson, New English Review. In his willingness to leave his native land for Canaan, his nomadic existence, and his disdain for Pharaonic bureaucracy, Abraham was not only the first monotheist but the first individualist.