Biblical History
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.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
Deuteronomy, like Hamlet, is full of "quotations." This week we feature one that flips in the middle and sends us on a biblical journey. (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:11:25D’varim: A Lamenting Question?
Wednesday, July 25, 2012 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
We start reading this week at Deuteronomy 1:1. But where do we stop—and why? (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:10:41Mattot-Masei: Where Moses Walked
Wednesday, July 18, 2012 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
This week, the shocking truth about Kadesh-Barnea. (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:11:09Pinhas: Pact, Plot, Passion
Wednesday, July 11, 2012 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
Two strange words are used this week to describe what the Midianites did to the Israelites. We'll talk about what they are and why they are here. (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:10:38
Shavuot: The Stopping PointFriday, May 25, 2012 by Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
There is always something going on in the Jewish festival calendar. From the fast of the 10th of Tevet through Hanukkah right around to the next fast of the 10th of Tevet on December 23rd, it's hard to go more than four or five weeks in a row without finding some special day to be observed.
Either/OrthodoxyTuesday, May 15, 2012 by Lawrence Grossman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Belying the regimented connotation of the word "orthodox," Orthodox Judaism is by far the most diverse stream of Judaism, encompassing such incompatible types as rationalists and mystics, West Bank settlers and peaceniks, college professors and obscurantists, feminists and male chauvinists.
Were the Israelites Enslaved in Egypt?Friday, April 6, 2012 by Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Did the exodus really take place? To many, this will seem like an absurd question. The book of Exodus has a dozen chapters explaining that it did. Yet recent decades have found at least some biblical scholars casting doubts on the historicity of this story.
The Dangerous Mr. NelsonMonday, February 6, 2012 by Diana Muir Appelbaum | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Eric Nelson is a danger to academia. You would not think so from his background. He is the Frederick S. Danziger Associate Professor of Government at Harvard University. He has had a proper education, at Harvard and Trinity College, Cambridge.
America the BiblicalTuesday, January 17, 2012 by Diana Muir Appelbaum | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The Greeks did not invent equality. Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, and the gang famously believed that the rich are different from you and me—not merely because they are shaped by their privileges but because they are actually, literally made of superior stuff.
Editors' Picks
Holy Writ Edward Rothstein, New York Times. Transforming the English language, the King James Version also permanently shaped English and Western ideas about human nature, freedom, and responsibility.
Bible Translations: From Bad to Worse Joel Hoffman, TEDx Talks. In twenty minutes, learn why every English translation of the Bible is unfaithful to the text. (Video)
Torah Archeology Yair Ettinger, Haaretz. Breaking an unwritten taboo, the first ultra-Orthodox conference on the findings of biblical archeology has been held before a packed audience.
Heavy of Tongue Philologos, Forward. Did Moses suffer from a speech impediment, and if so, what was it?
As the Good Book Says Leland Ryken, Wall Street Journal. The King James Bible is a paradox: It is simple in vocabulary while majestic and elevating in effect. Now 400 years old and the bestselling book of all time, it deserves its longevity.
Pooling Genes Gianna Palmer, Forward.
A new scientific paper uses DNA to assert a genetic link between Jews and Africans—a link also attested by ancient Jewish tales of trade and other exchanges with sub-Saharan Africa.
Mormons and the House of Israel Mark Paredes, Jewish Journal. A new book about a woman's search for lost tribes offers a glimpse into Mormon doctrines about Israel's covenant and those to whom it applies.
Strings Attached Paul Berger, Forward. Money alone has not sufficed to buy a treasured Judaica library containing, among other unique specimens, hundreds of handwritten Hebrew documents dating back as much as 1,000 years.
Correcting the Bible Marc B. Shapiro, Jewish Review of Books. Reunited with the "Crown of Aleppo," the religious community now possesses the textually most perfect Bible in existence. Yet to most it seems only of historical interest.
Jumpin' Jehosaphat! Leonard J. Greenspoon, Biblical Archaeology Review. Whether he actually jumped or not, the ninth-century B.C.E. king of Judah has inspired some quaint American usages, and at least one racy one.