Study the Torah with Academic Scholarship

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Judaism, Orthodox

ובכן תן פחדך: Universalism Vs. Particularism in Contemporary Machzorim

What is the ideal relationship between Jews and the rest of humanity? A study of Ultra-Orthodox, Modern Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform High Holiday prayer books shows how each read the three uvechen “and so” additions to the amidah depending on their ideological worldviews. Perhaps there is wisdom in the prayer’s ambiguity.

Prof. Rabbi

Ruth Langer

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Why Should the Scientific Study of the Bible Matter to Us?

In a 1927 speech at the inauguration of the Hebrew University’s Institute for Jewish Studies, Dr. Rabbi Felix Perles called on Jewish scholars to be on the forefront of critical Bible study. He compares this effort to how Maimonides, even though he was accused of abrogating the Torah, incorporated philosophical study into Judaism.

Prof.

Marc Zvi Brettler

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The Seder as a (Children’s) Literature Festival

Prof. Rabbi

Wendy Zierler

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Dovid Steinberg’s Ultra-Orthodox Agenda

TheTorah.com engages the Documentary and Supplementary Hypotheses, source, redaction, and textual criticism, and even offers moral critiques of Torah laws and narratives, but what is Steinberg really trying to accomplish?

Dr. Rabbi

Zev Farber

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Chaim Shvilly’s Confession for Bible Critics

Dismayed by claims of modern scholars that the Book of Daniel’s historical survey of the Seleucid era was written post-facto by a Hellenistic author, Chaim Shvilly (1907–1974) composed a ritual confession that Bible critics would be required to say at Daniel’s grave.

Staff Editors

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Diaspora as a Strategy for Jewish Survival

Jacob’s standoff with Esau, including dividing his camp in two so that if one should be attacked, “the camp which is left shall escape” (Genesis 32:9), is seen as a precursor and strategy for Jewish survival throughout the generations. This story and verse played a significant role in the attitude of Orthodox Jewry toward America.

Prof.

Malachi Haim Hacohen

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The Hertz Chumash: A Polemical Defense of Judaism

To instill Jewish readers with a sense of pride in their religion, Rabbi Joseph Hertz, the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom in the early 20th century, challenged Wellhausen’s Documentary Hypothesis, especially the claim that rabbinic Judaism was a degraded form of Israelite religion. Instead, Hertz went on the offensive, comparing Christian values unfavorably to Jewish values.

Dr. Rabbi

Harvey Meirovich

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The Sotah Ritual: Mistrusting Women and Their Torah Study

A male priest recites and inscribes a curse that the sotah is compelled to orally ingest and disclose the “truth” without listening to her words. Set in the wilderness period, and framed as a narrative passed down from mother to daughter, the short story of Iʿezer and Shifra by David Frischmann (a 20th century Hebrew fiction writer) highlights how, when she is accused of being a sotah, Shifra’s ignorance of Torah dooms her.

Prof. Rabbi

Wendy Zierler

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The Religious Value of Biblical Criticism: My Modern Orthodox Journey

I went from dismissing biblical criticism to embracing its truth, and having to rebuild my religious identity. Five aspects of my religious life have been profoundly enhanced.

Rabbi

Noam Shapiro

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Noah’s Curse: On the Eve of the Civil War, a Rabbi Declares Black Slavery Biblical

In 1861, Rabbi Morris Raphall of New York attempted to save the Union by declaring from his pulpit that slavery was the will of God, as per the Torah’s story of the curse of Ham. Some rabbis and Jewish scholars approved of the message, but others, such as Michael Heilprin and David Einhorn, pushed back with biting criticism.

Prof.

Howard B. Rock

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The Stone Chumash: Reviewing Its Torah

Dr. Hacham

Isaac S. D. Sassoon

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Rejecting Biblical Criticism… And Then

Rabbi

Daniel Landes

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Ani Maamin: 13 Principles of Faith that Make Us Modern Orthodox

Federated Rabbis of Uncertain Modernity (FRUM)

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Humility, Skepticism, and Defining the Boundaries of Faith

Rabbi

Yuval Cherlow

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I Respect Academic Methodology but Am Not Convinced by Its Conclusions

Rabbi

Yoni Rosensweig

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How to Not Address Source Criticism

Dr. Rabbi

Adam Mintz

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The Torah’s Essence Does Not Lie in Its Origin

Prof. Rabbi

Shaul Magid

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My Abandoned Quest to Integrate Orthodoxy and Biblical Criticism

When I encountered TheTorah.com, I experienced a moment of déjà vu. In the early 1970s, I majored in Bible at Yeshiva University and spent my junior year abroad in Jerusalem studying with Hebrew University Bible professors. My goal was to grapple with questions of Pentateuchal criticism in a way that would be meaningful and beneficial for an Orthodox Jew. But then I dropped it. Here is my story.

Dr. Rabbi

Natan Ophir (Offenbacher)

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The Ilui Who Couldn’t Reject Biblical Criticism: Louis Jacobs

He was British Jewry’s outstanding homegrown rabbinic scholar, a protégé of Rabbi Eliyahu Munk, and described as an ilui (genius in Torah study) by R. Eliyahu Dessler. Yet R. Louis Jacobs’ desire to reconcile Judaism with academic studies led to his exclusion from Britain's orthodox rabbinate.

Dr.

Harry Freedman

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Kiyyum Mitzvot and Biblical Criticism: Holding On to the One Without Letting Go of the Other (Eccl. 7:18)

Prof.

Baruch J. Schwartz

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Louis Jacobs: We Have Reason to Believe

Rabbi Dr. Louis Jacobs, voted “the greatest British Jew,” is best-known for his 1957 book that denied traditional notions of Torah min HaShamayim, the divine origin of the Torah. The resulting controversy still reverberates today.

Prof.

Marc Zvi Brettler

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Prof.

Edward Breuer

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Text and Context: Torah and Historical Truth

Historical-critical and text-critical approaches to the Torah have a strong precedent in classical rabbinic literature. Yet Orthodox Jewish communities today pointedly resist these methods. It is time that critical thinking about the Torah be embraced within our educational systems.

Prof.

B. Barry Levy

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Revelation and Authority: Author’s Presentation

Prof.

Benjamin D. Sommer

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“Torah Is from Heaven!” What Do We Really Mean?

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

Dr. Rabbi

Zev Farber

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Torah Thoughts, Rabbinic Mind, and Academic Freedom

Na’aseh Ve-Nishma

Prof.

Zev Garber

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Is the "As If" Approach Sufficient to Maintain Firm Religious Commitment?

Prof.

Tamar Ross

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The Significance of Hittite Treaties for Biblical Studies and Orthodox Judaism

Dr.

Yitzhaq Feder

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Torah from Heaven: Redefining the Question

Many Orthodox Jews believe that God composed the Torah, and feel no need to inquire further. Nevertheless, it does occurs to me to inquire further, and find a respectful answer to the question of how people, including myself, come to this belief. An honest question beats a dishonest answer, even if the dishonest answer produces much more comfort.

Dr. Rabbi

Eliezer Finkelman

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Torah from Heaven: A Question of Evidence or Loyalty?

What role does evidence play in believing that Torah is the revelation of God?

Dr. Rabbi

Eliezer Finkelman

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The Challenges of Ancient Near Eastern Antecedents to the Torah

Thoughts on Torah Min HaShamayim

Dr. Rabbi

Michael Harris

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Were Maimonides and Some of His Followers Orthoprax?

Debate over Maimonides’ orthodoxy already began in his lifetime, but for the contemporary believer, the stakes are especially high.

Prof.

Haim (Howard) Kreisel

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My Name Is Yoel, I Am a Satmar Hasid and a Bible Critic

Sharing his religious journey into biblical scholarship, a young married Hasidic man challenges the Modern Orthodox world to lead where his community cannot. 

Yoel S.

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Post-Liberalism as the Ultimate Safety Net for Classical Religion in the Modern World

Prof.

Tamar Ross

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Current Approaches to Revelation and Torah

Staff Editors

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Bringing It All Together: The Interactive Paradigm of Divine-Human Relations & Conclusion

Prof.

Tamar Ross

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Relating Truthfully to Morally Problematic Torah Texts

Morally problematic halachot remain on the books despite rabbinic attempts to transform or reinterpret them. How do we relate to these texts as Torah from Sinai, coming from God?

Dr. Rabbi

Norman Solomon

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Seven Defenses Against Biblical Criticism

Understanding the Other Side

Dr. Rabbi

Lawrence Grossman

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Bible Scholarship in Orthodoxy

Reflections on teaching biblical criticism in the classroom; a talk given at the Edah conference (2005).

Rabbi

Eric Grossman

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In What Sense Did Orthodoxy Believe the Torah to be Divine?

Decades before Facebook, blogs, and the Internet, at a time Orthodoxy was trying to distinguish itself from the Conservative movement, ten Orthodox thinkers responded to the question of what the divine revelation of the Torah meant in Orthodox Judaism. Did they meet the challenge of Biblical Criticism?

Dr. Rabbi

Lawrence Grossman

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Revelation and Authority: Author’s Response

Prof.

Benjamin D. Sommer

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Experiencing Moments of Torah Mi-Sinai

A Personal Reflection

Dr.

Michael Carasik

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Why Now? Toward a Sociology of Knowledge Analysis of TheTorah.com

An analysis of why the approach taken by TheTorah.com has found such a large audience among the Orthodox at this time.

Prof.

Chaim I. Waxman

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Metempsychosis (Gilgul), Academic Study of Bible and the Meaning of Truth

Dr. Hacham

Isaac S. D. Sassoon

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Torah Min HaShamayim: Conflicts Between Religious Belief and Scientific Thinking

Dr.

Daniel Jackson

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The Significance of Ibn Ezra’s Position that Verses Were Added to the Torah

“And this is the Torah that Moses Placed Before the Children of Israel” —Numbers 9:23

Dr. Rabbi

Zev Farber

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The Linguistic Turn: A New Direction in Religious Thinking

Prof.

Tamar Ross

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How Did Abraham Discover God? The Experiential Approach

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.

Dr. Rabbi

Seth (Avi) Kadish

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The Torah’s Exodus

Weighing the historicity of the exodus story entails more than addressing the lack of archaeological evidence.

Dr. Rabbi

Zev Farber

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Embracing Academic Torah Study: Modern Orthodoxy’s Challenge

The study of biblical criticism cuts to the very meaning of the value system of Modern Orthodoxy, i.e. forging a distinctive synthesis of modern culture with traditional values.

Dr.

Steven Bayme

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Myth of Origin and Narrative Theology: Rabbi Norman Solomon

Prof.

Tamar Ross

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My Personal Struggle with Unreasonable Belief

Torah Mi-Sinai and other dogmas compelled me to reconsider my place within the Orthodox world.

Prof.

Solomon Schimmel

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Biblical Authority: A Jewish Pluralistic View

Prof.

Marc Zvi Brettler

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The Smashing of the Luchot as a Paradigm Shift

Rabbi

Herzl Hefter

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How Can a Torah Commentary Be Source-Critical and Jewish?

Prof.

Baruch J. Schwartz

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Orthodox Solutions Thus Far

Prof.

Tamar Ross

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Lernen, Davenen, and Identifying Orthodox

Lernen versus learning, davenen versus prayer: an ethnographic analysis of how Orthodox Jews define themselves.

Prof.

Samuel Heilman

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Teaching Biblical Scholarship in a Modern Orthodox High School

The personal and educational challenges I faced teaching an introductory course on biblical scholarship to Modern Orthodox high school seniors: What I learned, what my students took home, and some suggestions on how to move forward.

Sara Susswein Tesler

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In the Footsteps of Leibowitz: Kasher, Levinger, Goldman and Schwartz

Prof.

Tamar Ross

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Authority Needs Language

By erasing the boundaries between Written and Oral Torah, and removing any clear content from God’s revelation of law, Sommer undermines the concept of authoritative halakha that he wishes to refine.

Prof.

Sam Fleischacker

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The Peshat Verus Halakha Dilemma: Shadal and Tradition

When Torah verses appear to contradict Jewish law.

Prof. Rabbi

Marty Lockshin

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Meeting the Challenge of Critical Scholarship with Leviticus

Dr. Rabbi

Irving (Yitz) Greenberg

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Afterword: The Sum of the Matter

Dr. Rabbi

Zev Farber

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Can Orthodox Education Survive Biblical Criticism?

Dr. Rabbi

Zev Farber

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Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik: Questioning the Centrality of Empirical Data

Prof.

Tamar Ross

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Must We Have Heretics?

A proposal to return to the days before Maimonides’ thirteen principles defined the parameters of acceptable Jewish dogma.

Prof.

Menachem Kellner

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My Encounter with the Firmament

The Torah describes God’s fashioning the firmament (רקיע) on the second day of creation. This piece of the universe, however, doesn’t actually exist—a problem obfuscated in my yeshiva education.

Oren Fass M.D.

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A Journey of Twenty Years with R. Dovid Steinberg

The first time I opened a Talmud was with Rabbi Dovid. Even years before his encounter with academic Bible, he always made space for me to argue points that I disagreed with. I became hooked on Torah study.

Bill Friedlieb

A Tribute to My Friendship with David Steinberg

Wishing David a happy birthday. We first connected in February 2010 when he was working as a kiruv (outreach) rabbi with Aish HaTorah.

Kevin Wolf

God Doesn’t Come Down to Earth Lower than Ten

“The heavens are the heavens for YHWH, and the earth was given to humankind.” — Psalm 115:16. Reflections on the 10-year anniversary of TheTorah.com.

Rabbi

David D. Steinberg

Embracing the Tension between Traditional and Critical Scholarship

Exposing readers to modern critical scholarship and traditional Jewish commentary, not treating them as mutually exclusive, is one of TheTorah.com’s most significant contributions.

Prof. Rabbi

Marty Lockshin

Renewing the Torah’s Authority

It is time to cut the shackles of encrusted conventions that anchor the Torah in a previous civilization, and that threaten to drag it down to oblivion.

Dr. Rabbi

Irving (Yitz) Greenberg

Pursuing Truth: Our Responsibility Beyond Orthodox Identity

Every age offers examples of the tension between those who welcome new insights and those who uncritically repeat and elaborate on outworn models.

Dr. Rabbi

Norman Solomon

Torah for an Interconnected and Changing World

A Shavuot tribute to TheTorah.com on its 8th anniversary (and my 88th birthday).

Dr. Rabbi

Norman Solomon

A Campus Rabbi Comes to Terms with Biblical Criticism

After years of yeshiva education and even Orthodox semicha, encountering biblical criticism was a shock to my system. However, my initial fear and disorientation gave way to a new bottom-line understanding of Torah, and it has become part of the message that I use to inspire my students on campus.

Rabbi

Daniel Levine

A Religious Archaeologist: Ten Questions with Dr. Hayah Katz

On Pottery, Religious Faith, and the Challenges for Women in Archaeology

Dr.

Hayah Katz

Confessions of an Interloper: Bible Criticism from the Sidelines

“Bible criticism can ruin only a faith that has already been weakened.” – Emmanuel Levinas, “The Spinoza case”

Prof. Rabbi

Shaul Magid