Latest Essays

The Critical and Traditional Approaches

Four Answers to One Question

The works of medieval exegetes such as Maimonides, Rashbam and Ibn Ezra demonstrate that Judaism has a long-standing tradition of studying the Torah critically.

Inaugurating TheTorah.com

In ancient Judah, death was a two-step journey: the body was laid in a tomb, and the spirit passed to She’ol. Ancestors were believed to influence the fortunes of the living and could be consulted, as when Saul summons Samuel through a woman of Endor. Biblical authors rejected these practices and replaced them, establishing communal ancestors in the cave of Machpelah and asserting that YHWH Elohim alone can intervene to ensure fertility, land, and well-being.