Latest Essays
Reading the Golden Calves of Sinai and Northern Israel in Context
Reading the Golden Calves of Sinai and Northern Israel in Context
The story of the Golden Calf overtly describes a religious sin in the wilderness generation, but aspects of the story also evoke the (later) behavior of King Jeroboam I of Israel. Ancient readers would have understood these resonances as having political ramifications.
Comparing Purims
Comparing Purims
Karaite Jews question Mordechai’s authority to create an obligatory new holiday. Nevertheless, they join their Rabbinic Jewish brethren in celebrating the two days of Purim, in keeping with their understanding of Mordechai’s instructions.
Reading the Megillah at Night: A Secondary Development
Reading the Megillah at Night: A Secondary Development
We read the Megillah twice, once at night and once during the day. The latter reading is described in the Mishnah, the former isn’t referenced in any Tannaitic source. Where did it come from and why?
Highlighting Juxtaposition in the Torah
Highlighting Juxtaposition in the Torah
The well-known rabbinic principle of אין מוקדם ומאוחר בתורה (there is no chronological order in the Torah) is often understood to be a hermeneutical solution to a textual, peshat problem. The principle, however, should be understood as midrashic, formulated to highlight other reasons for which biblical accounts could have been juxtaposed.
Judaism Without Sinai?
Judaism Without Sinai?
The Sinai theophany is virtually absent from the Bible outside of the Torah and the very late book of Nehemiah. This absence reflects an alternative tradition that sees Israel’s laws as deriving from multiple small revelations from prophets throughout history.
