Latest Essays

Is there symbolic meaning in sacrificing bulls versus sheep? Hint: Only bulls were offered at Mount Sinai.

Socrates of Constantinople’s account of Syrian Jews crucifying a Christian boy (ca. 415–419), likely during Purim, may have stemmed from a misunderstanding of an enactment of hanging Haman’s effigy. The story went largely unnoticed until the 18^th century, when it began circulating in lists of murder allegations against Jews, most notoriously in Julius Streicher’s list in the May 1934 edition of his tabloid, Der Stürmer.

In the Book of Samuel, no clear explanation is given as to why Uzza’s offense is so grave that it warrants instant death. The author of Chronicles, finding this unsatisfactory, rewrites parts of the story and provides a concrete explanation for Uzza’s fatal punishment.

Study science to fall in love with God is the message of the Song of Songs according to both Maimonides and Gersonides. Whereas Maimonides believed it was forbidden to make the hidden meaning accessible to the average person, by the time Gersonides was writing a century later, the philosophical reading of the Bible was well known. Thus, he not only explicates the text but also quotes Aristotle 49 times to make his points.

Exodus instructs each family in Egypt to slaughter a paschal lamb and eat it at home, while Deuteronomy commands a community ritual, to take place at the central worship location, i.e., the Jerusalem Temple. These two conceptions cross-pollinate, first in the Torah and then in its early reception: Jubilees requires everyone to eat in the Temple as their home; the Mishnah requires everyone to slaughter together in three cohorts; most surprisingly, R. Eliezer claims that, in theory, all of Israel can share one paschal animal.

Origen (3rd century C.E.) read the Song of Songs as an allegory expressing the love between Christ and his “bride,” and many Christian interpreters followed suit. Rashi (11th century C.E.), utilizing his two-pronged method of midrash aligned with peshat, developed a consistent Jewish allegory for the Song: Israel is an exiled wife, who pines for the time of her youthful love with God. Could Rashi have been contending with the Christian interpretation?

In his Peri Pascha, the 2^nd century Bishop Melito of Sardis critiques the Jews with a list that begins, "Ungrateful Israel, come to trial with me concerning your ingratitude." Centuries later, the song Improperia, inspired by the theme of Jewish ingratitude to God, entered the Catholic liturgy. Scholars have long noted its similarity to Dayenu, a song that first appears in Saadiah Gaon's Haggadah in the 10^th century. Which song is responding to which?

Is “kingdom” in Biblical Hebrew, מַמְלָכָה mamlakha or מַלְכוּת malkhut? How does the Bible express that something is prohibited? Many linguistic scholars posit that it depends on the dialect, CBH or LBH. Does statistical analysis support this conclusion?

If you could invite any figure from the past — biblical, rabbinic, medieval, or modern — to your seder, whom would you invite and why?

Through her public appearances and widely circulated gilyonot (study sheets), Nehama Leibowitz engaged thousands in the study of Torah, becoming a respected and beloved figure within the religious-Zionist community and beyond.

The curtains and screens for the innermost spaces of the tabernacle are made from expensive materials, and their instructions are described in elevated prose. In contrast, the courtyard enclosure is constructed with more common materials and described in more economical prose.

Muslim scholars like Qadi Abd al-Jabbar, Ibn Hazm (11th c.), and Salih b. al-Husayn al-Gafari (13th c.), and Jewish scholars like Ibn Ezra, Joseph Kimchi (12th c.), Hasdai Crescas, and Profiat Duran (14th c.) viewed the Trinity as a troubling departure from pure monotheism. Spurred by religious competition that was often intertwined with political competition or coercion, they sought to refute it, drawing on philosophy, the Hebrew Bible, and even the New Testament.

In the earliest texts from Jerusalem, dating to the 14th century B.C.E., the royal scribe peppers his Akkadian letters with Canaanite forms and expressions to defend Abdi-Heba against accusations of disloyal to the pharoah

As king of an important port city, Rib-Hadda employed at least ten scribes, who were trained in a certain rhetorical style, some of whom travelled with him north to Ṣumer and south to Beirut.

The Amarna letters are presented in the voice of various kings, but they are actually literary creations crafted by professional scribes who employ wordplay, parallelism, and other rhetorical techniques to make their patrons' messages as persuasive as possible.

Abdi–Ḫeba of Jerusalem, among other Canaanite rules, appeal to Pharaoh for help against the ‘Apiru, who are destroying towns. Some local rulers are even accused of being in league with the ‘Apiru, the most colorful and notorious of which was Labʾayu of Shechem.

Canaanite kings, such as Abimilki of Tyre, write to Pharaoh to ask for help and complain about rivals. Notable is Aziru, king of Amurru, who abandons his loyalty to Egypt in favor of the Hittites.

The Kassite king of Babylonia accuses the pharaoh of insulting his sister, whom he had taken as a wife, and of sending him diluted gold.

Located in eastern Turkey, the kingdom of the Hittites competed with Egypt for control of Amurru and Mittani in modern-day Lebanon and Syria.

A cache of over 380 cuneiform tablets, written in Akkadian, the ancient international language, sheds light on the political realities of the Levant in late 14th century, more than 100 years before the appearance of Israel.

“I YHWH am your healer”—Exodus 15:26

Why are the Books of Ruth and Esther so much alike?

As TheTorah.com approaches its 12th anniversary, I am honored to have been hired to oversee its first-ever Strategic Questionnaire. Rest assured, your feedback will be taken with the utmost seriousness and will play a vital role in shaping the future of TheTorah.com

YHWH also reveals to Moses His goodness, glory, and name, but are knowing these the same as knowing YHWH?

To consecrate a sacred space, the inclusion of a critical object is reserved for last. In the case of the Tabernacle—which we construct in meditatio, through the recitation of the biblical text—it is the gold altar for burning incense. Its proper use keeps the high priest alive on Yom Kippur, while its misuse leads to the death of Nadab and Abihu.