Latest Essays
Israel’s Wilderness Camp Modeled on the Persian Military Formation
Israel’s Wilderness Camp Modeled on the Persian Military Formation
The Israelite camp’s layout provides a double layer of protection for the Tabernacle and ensures an orderly march through the wilderness. But where does this organizational model come from? New evidence points not to Egypt—but to Persia.
Septuagint Variants in Midrash and the Haggadah
Septuagint Variants in Midrash and the Haggadah
Why does Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba question whether the word “good” appears in the first version of the Decalogue—when the Masoretic Text (MT) clearly omits it? Why do some midrashim speak of God dividing the nations among seventy angels—though Deuteronomy 32:8 says nothing of angels? These phrasings align with the Septuagint (LXX), as do the Haggadah’s emphasis on God’s sole role in the exodus, the wise son’s inclusive phrasing, and the image of God’s outstretched arm.
The אוֹת (ʾOt) of Cain, Rahab, and Shabbat: Stop Looking for Signs!
The אוֹת (ʾOt) of Cain, Rahab, and Shabbat: Stop Looking for Signs!
Cain receives an ʾot from YHWH to protect him after killing his brother. Moses encounters an ʾot at the burning bush. Shabbat is called an ʾot between God and Israel. Rahab demands an ʾot to save her family during Israel’s conquest. And Isaiah offers King Ahaz an ʾot to calm his fear of invasion. But what exactly is an אוֹת (ʾot)?
“There We Saw the Giants”—Premodern Encounters with Giant Bones
“There We Saw the Giants”—Premodern Encounters with Giant Bones
Greek, Roman, Christian, and Jewish authors described discovering enormous bones buried just beneath the earth’s surface and interpreted them through their own lenses: Greeks and Romans saw mythic heroes and monsters; Jewish writers identified them as biblical giants, especially Og, king of Bashan. These discoveries reinforced the enduring belief that ancient humans were far larger than those of today.
Miriam Complains of Moses’ Cushite Wife: Hezekiah Married the Wrong Empire!
Miriam Complains of Moses’ Cushite Wife: Hezekiah Married the Wrong Empire!
In the 8th century B.C.E., Egypt’s Nubian (Cushite) rulers pledged support to Hezekiah’s rebellion against Assyria—but ultimately failed to deliver. Miriam’s complaint about Moses’ Cushite wife serves as a political allegory, cautioning against reliance on Egypt’s unreliable alliance.
Sotah: A Purification Ritual for an Adulteress Revised into an Ordeal
Sotah: A Purification Ritual for an Adulteress Revised into an Ordeal
In the original Priestly account of the sotah ritual, an adulterous woman herself brings a grain offering, and the priest publicly humiliates and curses her as part of a purification process for her sin. Later, the Holiness School editors reworked the narrative: the focus shifts to a jealous husband who suspects his wife of infidelity and brings her before the priests to undergo the ordeal of bitter waters—a divine test that determines her guilt or innocence.
The Menstruant Is Dangerous: Nahmanides’ Science and Mysticism
The Menstruant Is Dangerous: Nahmanides’ Science and Mysticism
Why did Laban accept that Rachel could not rise before him when she said, “For the way of women was upon me”? Why does the Torah forbid sexual relations during menstruation? Nahmanides’ answers place him at the crossroads of medieval science and mysticism.
Ruth the Moabite: Was She Truly Accepted?
Ruth the Moabite: Was She Truly Accepted?
Does Naomi appreciate Ruth? Is she embraced by the women of Bethlehem? How does the narrator of the Book of Ruth regard her? And why, at the end of the story, is Ruth effectively erased, and her child appropriated by Naomi?
The Transformation of Hebrew Script: From Paleo-Hebrew to Aramaic
The Transformation of Hebrew Script: From Paleo-Hebrew to Aramaic
Before the exile, Israelites and Judahites wrote in Old Hebrew script. During the Second Temple period, Aramaic script slowly replaces Old Hebrew to the extent that the rabbis even disqualify a Torah scroll written in Old Hebrew.
Kinship over Covenant: The Book of Ruth’s Traditional Challenge to Deuteronomy
Kinship over Covenant: The Book of Ruth’s Traditional Challenge to Deuteronomy
In Persian Yehud, as Deuteronomy’s covenant with YHWH was championed as the new path to national security and blessing, the book of Ruth countered with a conservative vision—one in which the survival and well-being of two vulnerable widows are secured not through covenantal fidelity, but through traditional values and customary law.
The Scroll of the Covenant Moses Read at Mount Sinai Is the End of Leviticus
The Scroll of the Covenant Moses Read at Mount Sinai Is the End of Leviticus
Jubilees, and later the Mekhilta, suggest that the covenant ceremony described after the revelation at Sinai (Exodus 24) actually took place earlier — at the moment when the Israelites declared נַעֲשֶׂה, “we will do” (Exodus 19). According to Rabbi Ishmael, it was then that Moses read Leviticus 25–26 to the people — a section explicitly framed as spoken at Sinai, and which sets out the terms of the covenant.
Counting the Omer Began at Harvest; Once Shabbat Was Instituted, It Started Sunday
Counting the Omer Began at Harvest; Once Shabbat Was Instituted, It Started Sunday
Originally, each farmer marked the start of their harvest by bringing the first sheaf to the priest, then working for seven consecutive weeks, culminating in an offering of new grain. Later, when this offering was transformed into the national festival of Shavuot and Shabbat observance became central, the count was anchored in מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת—“the day after Shabbat”—to avoid harvesting on the new day of rest.
Owls Aren’t Kosher—But What Do They Symbolize?
Owls Aren’t Kosher—But What Do They Symbolize?
Owls are predators and are forbidden to eat, but as early as the 4th millennium B.C.E., they emerged as potent symbols in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Levant. What do these nocturnal creatures, with their large, expressive eyes and haunting vocalizations, signify—and why does the Bible place them among ruins and demons?
Rebuke: From Bible to Talmud to Zohar
Rebuke: From Bible to Talmud to Zohar
How much is too much when rebuking someone? Proverbs, Talmud, and Maimonides stress the importance of not humiliating the person, and stopping if they're not listening. The Zohar, however, tells a story of Rabbi Ḥiyya and Rabbi Yosi meeting a man with a skin disease on the street and publicly rebuking him. This mindset reflects the Jewish community in 13th century Spain and the institution of berurei aveirot, religious police appointed to root out evil and maintain righteousness.
Do Not Hate! Rebuke without Sin
Do Not Hate! Rebuke without Sin
In sequence, Leviticus 19:17 commands: do not hate, do rebuke, and do not incur guilt. What is the relationship between these imperatives—and what do they teach us about the biblical art of rebuke?
Black or Yellow Hair: A Scribe Miscopied the Laws of Tzaraat
Black or Yellow Hair: A Scribe Miscopied the Laws of Tzaraat
When the priest looks at a skin infection in a person’s hair or beard, “and there is no black hair in it” (MT), or “there is no yellow hair in it” (LXX), the priest puts the person in quarantine for seven days. Which biblical version is right?
Variants in the Masoretic Text: From Talmud to Rashi
Variants in the Masoretic Text: From Talmud to Rashi
Rabbinic quotations of the Bible differ in some instances from the Masoretic Text. In some cases, the rabbis were aware it was a variant; other times they were not.
The Crucifixion at Inmestar (5th-Century) and Its Role in Antisemitic Propaganda
The Crucifixion at Inmestar (5th-Century) and Its Role in Antisemitic Propaganda
Socrates of Constantinople’s account of Syrian Jews crucifying a Christian boy (ca. 415–419), likely during Purim, may have stemmed from a misunderstanding of an enactment of hanging Haman’s effigy. The story went largely unnoticed until the 18th century, when it began circulating in lists of murder allegations against Jews, most notoriously in Julius Streicher’s list in the May 1934 edition of his tabloid, Der Stürmer.
Uzza Touches the Ark and Dies—Why? Samuel vs. Chronicles
Uzza Touches the Ark and Dies—Why? Samuel vs. Chronicles
In the Book of Samuel, no clear explanation is given as to why Uzza’s offense is so grave that it warrants instant death. The author of Chronicles, finding this unsatisfactory, rewrites parts of the story and provides a concrete explanation for Uzza’s fatal punishment.
Song of Songs: A Secret for Maimonides, An Open Book for Gersonides
Song of Songs: A Secret for Maimonides, An Open Book for Gersonides
Study science to fall in love with God is the message of the Song of Songs according to both Maimonides and Gersonides. Whereas Maimonides believed it was forbidden to make the hidden meaning accessible to the average person, by the time Gersonides was writing a century later, the philosophical reading of the Bible was well known. Thus, he not only explicates the text but also quotes Aristotle 49 times to make his points.
Pesach in Egypt ⇄ Pesach in Jerusalem
Pesach in Egypt ⇄ Pesach in Jerusalem
Exodus instructs each family in Egypt to slaughter a paschal lamb and eat it at home, while Deuteronomy commands a community ritual, to take place at the central worship location, i.e., the Jerusalem Temple. These two conceptions cross-pollinate, first in the Torah and then in its early reception: Jubilees requires everyone to eat in the Temple as their home; the Mishnah requires everyone to slaughter together in three cohorts; most surprisingly, R. Eliezer claims that, in theory, all of Israel can share one paschal animal.