Dr. Rabbi David M. Freidenreich is the Pulver Family Associate Professor of Jewish Studies at Colby College. He earned his Ph.D. at Columbia University and rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary. He is the author of the award-winning book, Foreigners and Their Food: Constructing Otherness in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Law.
Last Updated
September 19, 2019
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How does the Torah envision that keeping kosher makes a person holy?
How does the Torah envision that keeping kosher makes a person holy?
Paul, in the 1st c., allegorizes the expulsion of Hagar to argue that his rivals should be expelled from the church, a lesson applied by later Christians to their own Jewish and Muslim rivals. Ramban, in the 13th c., uses the same biblical story to explain why Jews of his day are persecuted. Such readings highlight an assumption ingrained in Judaism and Christianity alike: Biblical stories speak to the present-day circumstances of their audience.
Paul, in the 1st c., allegorizes the expulsion of Hagar to argue that his rivals should be expelled from the church, a lesson applied by later Christians to their own Jewish and Muslim rivals. Ramban, in the 13th c., uses the same biblical story to explain why Jews of his day are persecuted. Such readings highlight an assumption ingrained in Judaism and Christianity alike: Biblical stories speak to the present-day circumstances of their audience.
