The Bible often provides explicit motivations for adhering to its laws, raising the question: How do these motivations align with contemporary psychological theories of moral reasoning?
Dr.
Deborah Uchill Miller
,
,
“When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall go up on the mountain” (Exodus 19:13). The original intention was for all Israelites to be like priests, and experience YHWH’s revelation on the mountain top. But when YHWH descends and the horn sounds, the people recoil and remain below.
Hila Hershkoviz
,
,
The dietary laws in Leviticus are not expressed in terms of kosher (כשר) or not kosher but in the terms of the Priestly purity laws: purity (טהרה), pollution (טומאה), and disgust (שקץ).
Dr.
Eve Levavi Feinstein
,
,
A look at Naomi’s theology, as expressed in her poem, and how it carries her through her grief and back into productive engagement.
Prof. Rabbi
Jonathan Magonet
,
,
A Taunt So Cruel It Will Freeze an Enemy’s Blood
Dr. Rabbi
Eliezer Finkelman
,
,
The Torah often uses the repetition of certain terms and wordplay to underline important themes. Numbers uses the terms נשא (nas’a: “to carry”) and נסע (nas‘a; “to travel”) to highlight the development of Israel from independent clans to a nation in a way that fits well with the model of group formation first suggested by psychologist Bruce Tuckman.
Dr.
Shani Tzoref
,
,
