Feminist biblical interpretation is more than simply paying attention to texts about women. It is also a means of achieving a more accurate understanding of life in ancient Israel and of the composition of the Bible.
Dr.
Sarah Shectman
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Ibn Ezra gives a surprising non-explanation for why Deuteronomy’s version of the Decalogue differs from that of Exodus: Is it really such a problem if Moses changed the words a little as long as he got the point right?
Prof. Rabbi
Marty Lockshin
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Hundreds of Judean pillar figurines have been found throughout Judahite homes in the Iron Age II. What is the biblical and archaeological context of these finds?
Dr.
Aaron Greener
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Many scholars, traditional and academic, believe it was worship of another god, the first commandment in the Decalogue, but what Aaron actually claims about the calf points to a different collection of laws.
Prof.
Joel Baden
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In the 14th century, R. Nissim of Marseilles suggested that God told Moses only the general command for the Mishkan and the laws in the Torah, and Moses himself wrote the details and attributed them to God as a way of glorifying God. A close look at many passages in Deuteronomy suggests that this was an early conception of Moses’ role in commanding the mitzvot.
Dr. Rabbi
David Frankel
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Generally translated as “do not steal,” the Rabbis make a compelling case for understanding lo tignov in the Decalogue to be a prohibition against the more serious offense of kidnapping, or, in modern terms, human trafficking.
Prof. Rabbi
Jonathan Magonet
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Ezekiel challenges the divine (in)justice of intergeneration
Dr. Rabbi
Zev Farber
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The Approaches of Chazal and the Pashtanim
Prof. Rabbi
Marty Lockshin
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Emphasizing the Holiness of Ethics over the Ritual
Prof.
Edward L. Greenstein
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Can all social change be antedated back to Sinai?
Prof.
Athalya Brenner-Idan
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What does the root רצח actually mean: to kill or to murder? A look at Rashbam’s attempted (and failed?) solution highlights the ethical ramifications of Bible translation.
Prof. Rabbi
Marty Lockshin
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The Hidden Message of the Opening Verses of Kedoshim
Rabbi
Uzi Weingarten
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In English, to covet means to desire someone or something obsessively, wrongfully, and/or without due regard for the rights/feelings of others. It is a strong emotion, to be avoided. But does “covet” capture the meaning of the Hebrew verb חמד?
Prof.
Leonard Greenspoon
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The development of the idea that the Torah has 613 mitzvot: From Talmudic aggada, to geonic liturgy, to medieval enumerations.
Dr.
Marc Herman
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“YHWH said to Moses: ‘Come up to me on the mountain and stay there so that I might give you the tablets of stone and the teaching and the commandment that I have written to teach them.’”—Exodus 24:12
Dr. Rabbi
David Frankel
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Surprising misconceptions and ambiguities about God’s central and unmediated revelation
Prof.
Marc Zvi Brettler
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The haftarah for Parashat Yitro (Isaiah 6:1-7:6; 9:5-6), which portrays God’s opening revelation to Isaiah in the Temple, perfectly complements the parasha, which focuses on God’s revelation to Israel on Mount Sinai. But whereas the Sinai revelation portrays YHWH as the God of justice, the revelation to Isaiah paints a very different portrait, bringing up the question: What should we do when God goes rogue?
Prof.
Marvin A. Sweeney
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The Seven Commandments: The Supplementary Approach at Work
Dr. Rabbi
Tzemah Yoreh
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How the theologians of the ancient Near East made sense of idolatry through the ritual dedication of the statues that made them into gods.
Dr.
Uri Gabbay
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