Dr. Hacham Isaac S. D. Sassoon is a rabbi and educator and a founding member of the ITJ. He studied under his father, Rabbi Solomon Sassoon, Hacham Yosef Doury, Gateshead Yeshivah and received his semicha from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. He holds a Ph.D. in literature from the University of Lisbon. He is the author of The Status of Women in Jewish Tradition (Cambridge University Press 2011), a commentary on chumash called Destination Torah (Ktav 2001), and most recently the co-editor with Rabbi Steven H. Golden of the Siddur 'Alats Libbi (Ktav 2020).
Last Updated
December 9, 2022
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Close reading of the relevant biblical texts uncovers friction, maybe momentous historical reform.
Close reading of the relevant biblical texts uncovers friction, maybe momentous historical reform.
Using Source Criticism to Disentangle a Moral Problem in the Torah
Using Source Criticism to Disentangle a Moral Problem in the Torah
The Priestly Torah discusses the Tabernacle at extraordinary length, emphasizing its portability. Nothing in P ever says this structure was meant to be temporary. P’s Tabernacle was not foreshadowing the Temple, but was a polemic against Haggai and Zechariah’s agitation to build the Second Temple.
The Priestly Torah discusses the Tabernacle at extraordinary length, emphasizing its portability. Nothing in P ever says this structure was meant to be temporary. P’s Tabernacle was not foreshadowing the Temple, but was a polemic against Haggai and Zechariah’s agitation to build the Second Temple.
Popular legend tells us that Rabbenu Gershom (d. ca 1028) was the first to prohibit polygyny. The Damascus Covenant’s understanding of the law in Leviticus 18:18, however, suggests that polygyny may have been prohibited more than a thousand years earlier by the Priestly authors.
Popular legend tells us that Rabbenu Gershom (d. ca 1028) was the first to prohibit polygyny. The Damascus Covenant’s understanding of the law in Leviticus 18:18, however, suggests that polygyny may have been prohibited more than a thousand years earlier by the Priestly authors.
When Moses instructs the people to eat the manna on Shabbat, he emphasizes “today,” “today,” “today.” Is this repetition just Priestly literary style or is it meant to tell us that Shabbat begins in the morning, and not the evening like Pesach and Yom Kippur?
When Moses instructs the people to eat the manna on Shabbat, he emphasizes “today,” “today,” “today.” Is this repetition just Priestly literary style or is it meant to tell us that Shabbat begins in the morning, and not the evening like Pesach and Yom Kippur?
Deuteronomy commands a man to marry the childless widow of his brother (yibbum). And yet, a close look at the Priestly text of the Torah shows that it did not have the option of yibbum.
Deuteronomy commands a man to marry the childless widow of his brother (yibbum). And yet, a close look at the Priestly text of the Torah shows that it did not have the option of yibbum.
The significance—or lack thereof—of family pedigree in matters of individual excellence and righteousness.
The significance—or lack thereof—of family pedigree in matters of individual excellence and righteousness.
At the Seder we commemorate our ancestors’ departure from Egyptian bondage and express gratitude for the inestimable gift of freedom. And yet, some ancient rabbis, and prophets before them, could not ignore the affliction and hardship that befell Egyptians as well as Israelites at various stages of the story. And so for the future they envisioned a kinder redemption.
At the Seder we commemorate our ancestors’ departure from Egyptian bondage and express gratitude for the inestimable gift of freedom. And yet, some ancient rabbis, and prophets before them, could not ignore the affliction and hardship that befell Egyptians as well as Israelites at various stages of the story. And so for the future they envisioned a kinder redemption.
Deuteronomy 23: “Let there be no kadesh among the sons of Israel. You shall not bring the fee of a harlot or the pay of a kelev (dog?) into the house of YHWH.”
Deuteronomy 23: “Let there be no kadesh among the sons of Israel. You shall not bring the fee of a harlot or the pay of a kelev (dog?) into the house of YHWH.”
Who gets to name the child? Priestly and non-Priestly texts give two different answers.
Who gets to name the child? Priestly and non-Priestly texts give two different answers.
The Torah describes a practice of declaring people cherem, which means that the person, and—in some cases—his family, would be annihilated, and his possessions donated to the Temple. The rabbis were unhappy with this law and used their homiletical approach to “obliterate” it.
The Torah describes a practice of declaring people cherem, which means that the person, and—in some cases—his family, would be annihilated, and his possessions donated to the Temple. The rabbis were unhappy with this law and used their homiletical approach to “obliterate” it.
Immersing in the Priestly Text: In support of Dr. Rabbi Zev Farber's contention in “The Purification of a Niddah: The Torah Requirement” that the Torah does not require women to immerse after niddah in order to become pure.
Immersing in the Priestly Text: In support of Dr. Rabbi Zev Farber's contention in “The Purification of a Niddah: The Torah Requirement” that the Torah does not require women to immerse after niddah in order to become pure.
Traditional commentators endued certain Torah references with midrashic or esoteric purport in an effort to counteract those who mocked them. But in so doing, they were conceding the mockers’ evaluation of these texts as being, prima facie, inconsequential. Fortunately, source criticism helps us accept these texts without discomfort, obviating the compulsion to interpret them away.
Traditional commentators endued certain Torah references with midrashic or esoteric purport in an effort to counteract those who mocked them. But in so doing, they were conceding the mockers’ evaluation of these texts as being, prima facie, inconsequential. Fortunately, source criticism helps us accept these texts without discomfort, obviating the compulsion to interpret them away.
