David Bar-Cohn is a staff member at Project TABS and is completing graduate studies in Bible at Bar-Ilan University. His book, Ohr HaShachar: Torah, Kabbalah and Consciousness in the Daily Morning Blessings (Urim, 2014), is a conceptual and linguistic analysis of the birkhot hashachar prayers, offering a rational, psychological approach to the terminology of Jewish mysticism. David also holds an M.A. in Clinical Psychology, received semikha in Yoreh De’ah in 2008, and has written other pieces blending Torah and academic scholarship, which can be read on his Truth and Peace blog.
Last Updated
September 19, 2019
Books by the Author
Articles by the Author
Deuteronomy does not have the festival of Shemini Atzeret (“the eighth day of assembly”), while Leviticus and Numbers do. This difference can help explain why the festival is absent in the story of Solomon’s dedication of the Temple in Kings but appears in the version of this same story in Chronicles.
Deuteronomy does not have the festival of Shemini Atzeret (“the eighth day of assembly”), while Leviticus and Numbers do. This difference can help explain why the festival is absent in the story of Solomon’s dedication of the Temple in Kings but appears in the version of this same story in Chronicles.
Seeking truth and thinking critically are spiritual endeavors that, like mitzvot and other deeds, require reflection and self-correction.
Seeking truth and thinking critically are spiritual endeavors that, like mitzvot and other deeds, require reflection and self-correction.
My relationship with Torah began with the romance of mysticism but then gave way to skepticism and disillusionment. To my surprise, it was academic scholarship of the Torah that brought back the spark and helped foster a deeper, more mature relationship.
My relationship with Torah began with the romance of mysticism but then gave way to skepticism and disillusionment. To my surprise, it was academic scholarship of the Torah that brought back the spark and helped foster a deeper, more mature relationship.
