As a rabbinical student, I learned that should anyone generate a novel understanding of the text (hiddush, in Hebrew), two questions need be asked: first, is this novel understanding of the text correct? and second, why has no one thought of this before? These two...
As any Bar Mitzvah boy will attest, the transition from minor to adult is manifested by the wearing of tallit and tefillin. (In the 1950’s and 1960’s many traditional synagogues organized Tallit and Tefillin Clubs as a way of keeping young Jewish teens engaged in...
One of the most telling comments of the pre-eminent medieval commentator, Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzhak of Troyes appears at the very beginning of the book of Genesis. Citing a question raised by an earlier midrashic authority, RaShI (the acronym by which he is known) asks...
Pharaoh remained unimpressed. Turning a staff into a snake was a feat easily repeated by Egyptian magicians (Exodus 7:11). And even after Moses’ snake swallowed up the magically crated ones, Pharaoh was unmoved. Turning water into blood fared no better. Pharaoh’s...
A most remarkable Jewish thinker of the twentieth century is Franz Rosenzweig. His biography is of special interest and requires more space and consideration than this short piece allows. But what if of signal importance is his organization of Judaism around three...
On his death bed, Father Jacob offers blessings to his sons gathered around him. According to the Rabbis, his blessings were prophetic: predicting what will await each in the future (Genesis Rabbah 98:2). For Judah, Jacob foretells kingship: “The scepter shall not...
Those familiar with the chanting of the Torah – not just its study – are aware of a specialized notational system called “trope.” Trope allows for the cantillation of the text, modulation of voice over longer passages, and the proper accenting of words. The Talmud...
Apparent inconsistencies are fertile ground for Biblical commentary. Consider, for example, the words of Joseph in Genesis 42:16. In order to test the truthfulness of his brothers’ story, Joseph decides that nine of the ten shall remain imprisoned and one will...
Joseph cast into the pit (Genesis 37:24) is the transition point of the narrative between the original plan of ten of his brothers to kill him and the secret plan of Reuben to rescue him. But in the context of the Bible as a whole, the act of casting a victim into a...
Of all the characters mentioned in the first half of the Book of Genesis, none has aroused the disdain of the Rabbis more than Esav. As the Rabbis read the text, the character of Esav was practically pre-ordained. Even within the womb Esav had a proclivity for...