Teaching Torah

I asked my 12th-grade students to divide the flood story (Genesis 6–9) into two narratives by applying four rules: look for different divine names, variations in style and language, distinct themes, and contradictions in the storyline. Is this the best pedagogical approach, or should we first teach students the established scholarship? And how can we teach students to read critically without misrepresenting the complexity of source criticism?

Rashi’s Torah commentary is largely adapted from classic rabbinic sources, including midrash halakhah. And yet, he often changes their meaning in his revisions. Where does Rashi get the authority to make these changes?

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.

The Torah’s program to democratize knowledge and create an educated laity.

Moses and R. Judah HaNasi implore: “I would be most grateful if you would maintain the Torah after me.”

To uphold the covenant, Deuteronomy requires two forms of torah study: Learning the commandments and learning the reasons for keeping them. But what happens if even that fails?

A Biography by Prof. Marc Zvi Brettler, and Eulogy (delivered at the funeral) by Prof. Lawrence Schiffman.

Evaluating Deuteronomy’s angst about Israel’s future in light of the story of Ahiqar and modern educational research into student resistance.

In the 14^th century, R. Nissim of Marseilles suggested that God told Moses only the general command for the Tabernacle and the laws in the Torah, and Moses himself wrote the details and attributed them to God as a way of glorifying God. A close look at many passages in Deuteronomy suggests that this was an early conception of Moses’ role in commanding the mitzvot.