Prof. Alan Cooper is the Elaine Ravich Professor of Jewish Studies and provost of The Jewish Theological Seminary. He holds an M.Phil. and a Ph.D. in Religion from Yale University and a B.A. in religion from Columbia University. His recent publications include “Some Aspects of Traditional Jewish Psalms Interpretation,” in The Oxford Handbook of the Psalms and “Introduction to the Book of Leviticus,” to appear (in German) in Die Tora in der Übersetzung Ludwig Philippsons.
Last Updated
June 4, 2020
Books by the Author
Articles by the Author
The Torah requires all Israelite soldiers to carry a shovel with them for covering their feces, outside the war camp, because God is in the camp. Jewish interpreters have grappled with the meaning of this law: the Qumranites and Karaites assume feces must be impure, the rabbis extend the law to prayer and Torah study, and some medievalist interpreted the law homiletically, as a goad towards maintaining human decency at all times, even during war.
The Torah requires all Israelite soldiers to carry a shovel with them for covering their feces, outside the war camp, because God is in the camp. Jewish interpreters have grappled with the meaning of this law: the Qumranites and Karaites assume feces must be impure, the rabbis extend the law to prayer and Torah study, and some medievalist interpreted the law homiletically, as a goad towards maintaining human decency at all times, even during war.
