Bible
A Voice Saying Something RightTuesday, January 29, 2013 by David Curzon | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Poet Harvey Shapiro, who passed away this month at age 88, captured in plain words the mystery of everyday life, the trauma of war, and the grandeur of Jewish tradition.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
Why it's "mi-KHAmokha" the first time and "mi KAmokha" the second time—and why it matters. (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:12:02Va’era: Confronting Leviathan
Wednesday, January 9, 2013 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
Moses, snakes, and serpents—and what all that has to do with the story of creation. (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:11:46
Dr. Orlinsky and Mr. GreenFriday, January 4, 2013 by Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Harry Orlinsky is best known today as “Mr. Green,” the scholar who authenticated the four Dead Sea Scrolls offered for sale in a Wall Street Journal want ad. But his legacy as a Bible scholar is enormous.
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, January 2, 2013 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
A mysterious connection between Moses and Elijah—coincidence? (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:11:47Vay’hi: Echoes of Abraham
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: 00:10:18Vayigash: Bound Together
Wednesday, December 19, 2012 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
Two biblical expressions for love—one of which will lead us to a surprising place. (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:09:53
Crossing Borders—Without PassportsWednesday, December 19, 2012 by Moshe Sokolow | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
“Crossing Borders,” a current exhibit at New York City’s Jewish Museum featuring works on loan from Oxford's Bodleian Library, displays medieval Jewish manuscripts embedded in their Christian and Muslim scribal milieus.
The First War of National LiberationWednesday, December 12, 2012 by Diana Muir Appelbaum | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The Maccabees' revolt can lay claim to being the first war of national liberation. Reprinted here is Diana Muir Appelbaum’s account of why the Book of Maccabees is so modern and so dangerous.
Editors' Picks
Harold Bloom’s Divine Obsession David Mikics, Tablet. Literary critic Harold Bloom dismisses halakhic Judaism as a "fossil." But, 20 years after his work The Book of J, the Bible continues to obsess him.
Original Dialectic Alan Brill, Kavvanah. Unlike most Jewish thinkers, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik acknowledged the doctrine of Original Sin—but argued that it did not corrupt man, but split him in two.
Moses’ Choice Gil Student, Torah Musings. Moses was chosen to lead Israel not only by God but, the Gemara says, by his mother. Still, unlike his enslaved brethren and even Pharaoh, Moses had the freedom to choose.
To Touch the Hand of God Gil Student, Torah Musings. Maimonides and Nahmanides disagree about translating biblical references to God’s physical attributes—because they disagree about the nature and purpose of language itself.
Variations on a Theme Geza Vermes, Standpoint. Discrepancies among the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Samaritan Pentateuch, the Septuagint, and the Masoretic biblical text point to interpretative ferment in the time of Jesus.
The Road to Serfdom Daniel Kaganovich, Jeremy England, Times of Israel. Did Joseph rescue Egypt from disaster through government intervention, like a good Keynesian—or enslave an entire population to the State, like a good Keynesian?
Amaziah's Revenge Glenn J. Corbett, Bible History Daily. In the Book of Chronicles, 10,000 Edomite captives were “dashed to pieces” when King Amaziah threw them from a mountaintop. Is es-Sela in Jordan the site of the slaughter?
Whose Bible Is It Anyway? Lawrence Schiffman, LawrenceSchiffman.com. It has become received wisdom that the Bible was an open canon—incomplete—when the Dead Sea Scrolls were composed. But that is a reflection of Christian theology.
On Judaism and Homosexuality Aharon Lichtenstein, Pages of Faith. Should Jewish communities treat homosexuals as beyond the pale even in circumstances in which they embrace people who violate the Sabbath or don’t give to charity? (Transcribed by Dov Karoll)
Solomon Remembers Andrew McCulloch, TLS. The poet Mick Imlah on King Solomon’s efforts to recollect and depict his “world of wives”—700 of them, not to mention the 300 concubines. (Poem)