Op-ed

I am the second oldest of ten siblings—seven boys and three girls. My father was my first Torah teacher, and I still feel his influence. Because of the path I took with TheTorah.com, I was the only son not given the opportunity to eulogize him when he passed. Now, on this first Shavuot since his death—zman matan Torateinu, the time of the giving of the Torah—I take this moment to share my feelings in the form of a letter to him.

A single semester in college led to a crisis of faith and identity.

Contemporary Israeli discourse uses the Bible’s rhetorical power to sway public opinion, sometimes interpreting phrases to suggest the opposite of what they meant in their original context.

The first time I opened a Talmud was with Rabbi Dovid. Even years before his encounter with academic Bible, he always made space for me to argue points that I disagreed with. I became hooked on Torah study.

Wishing David a happy birthday. We first connected in February 2010 when he was working as a kiruv (outreach) rabbi with Aish HaTorah.

Walking in the footsteps of Philo, the first biblical commentator, taking Ibn Ezra’s critiques to heart, and paying it forward to the next generation.

Texas Bill 1515 requires classrooms to display not just the Ten Commandments, but a specific version created by the Fraternal Order of Eagles found on monoliths across the U.S. Is this a legitimate version of the Decalogue?

Exposing readers to modern critical scholarship and traditional Jewish commentary, not treating them as mutually exclusive, is one of TheTorah.com’s most significant contributions.

Like the biblical Yaʿabetz, as interpreted by the rabbis, TheTorah.com gives wise and compassionate counsel while spreading Torah far and wide.

It takes courage to stand up for truth in the face of dismissal.

TheTorah.com offers Christians helpful models for how to engage Scripture with intellectual rigor in a manner that can enhance their own faith.

One of modern Judaism’s primary challenges is the lack of educated Jews. TheTorah.com plays a vital role in addressing this issue and making substantial strides toward a solution.

It is time to cut the shackles of encrusted conventions that anchor the Torah in a previous civilization, and that threaten to drag it down to oblivion.

Every age offers examples of the tension between those who welcome new insights and those who uncritically repeat and elaborate on outworn models.

A Poem

A Shavuot tribute to TheTorah.com on its 8th anniversary (and my 88th birthday).

Many hundreds of rabbis and clergy use TheTorah.com as a resource. I am committed to help support it. Will you join me?

On seven years of TheTorah.com

An expert in ancient Near Eastern contagious diseases reflects on living through a modern one.

A reflection on the yahrzeit of Samuel Rolles Driver

After years of yeshiva education and even Orthodox semicha, encountering biblical criticism was a shock to my system. However, my initial fear and disorientation gave way to a new bottom-line understanding of Torah, and it has become part of the message that I use to inspire my students on campus.

Who was Right—Rashi or Rabbeinu Tam?

Biblical scholarship as archaeo-psychology sheds light on the development of moral and religious awareness. We can either run from it or learn from it.

This is an actual bar mitzvah speech delivered by a Modern Orthodox boy at his bar Mitzvah.

Archaeology Review September / October 2013

“Bible criticism can ruin only a faith that has already been weakened.” – Emmanuel Levinas, “The Spinoza case”

A Dati Israeli Blogger’s Perspective

The need for rational-critical approaches to Scripture, in the popular Israeli discussions of the weekly parasha.

A response to Joshua Berman’s critique of academic biblical scholarship, “The Corruption of Biblical Studies.” This reply is self-standing, but you are encouraged to read his piece before reading this response.

In a Modern Orthodox school in the Tri-State Area, a Jewish day school sophomore is publicly rebuked and shamed by his rabbi for reading academic biblical scholarship.