Human Experience

A burnt offering, must be whole (תמים), after which it is dismembered (נתוח) and offered to YHWH. In the wake of the loss of my parents, I have come to appreciate how this process mirrors the creation story and life.

Statements that express our feelings are often confused with factual assertions.

A New Look at the Meaning of the Sotah and Nazir Rituals

Why can’t a man remarry his wife once she has been married to someone else?

Deuteronomy requires Israelite soldiers to carry a shovel with them for covering their feces, outside the war camp, because God is in the camp. The Qumranites and Karaites assume that feces must be impure, while the rabbis extend the law to include times of prayer and Torah study, and maintaining human decency at all times.

A Therapeutic Outlet for Terrible Pain

A Taunt So Cruel It Will Freeze an Enemy’s Blood

The midrashic Parable of the Illuminated Palace concerns Abraham and the existence of God. In Part 1, we looked at Maimonides rationalistic, Aristotelian approach. Alternative interpretations focus on the idea of an experiential, living relationship with God.

“God has not given you a mind to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear until this very day.”—Deuteronomy 29:3