Author: Mark
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Why Did God Give Us Horrible Commandments?
I recently posted a very short video on Facebook that attempts to explain in very broad terms why the Torah includes grossly immoral laws and commandments, such as genocide and capital punishment for a variety of victimless crimes. I devote an entire chapter of Come Now Let Us Reason Together to this subject, but I Read more
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New Podcast Discussion: Innovation and Authority
How can religion innovate without surrendering its authority and continuity Read more
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Come Now, Let Us Reason Together: the Movie
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If so, you should really dig this video, which I believe provides a compelling one-minute summary of my book. Check it out! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rtxV9D7AlB8qNKSKH8tY8-OlQUH-UK8F/view Read more
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Why Does the Torah Anthropomorphise God?
Anyone who has read the Torah knows that it often describes God in human terms. Thus, it refers to God as “angry” “remembering,” or “stretching out his arm.” In most of these cases I believe it is due to the inherent inability of finite human beings to accurate describe the thoughts and actions of an Read more
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Appearance on Prof. Alon Ben-Meir’s Podcast, “On the Issues.”
Rabbinic Judaism was liberal, in the older sense, at its core. It was blown off course in an illiberal direction during the Geonic era. The Jewish Enlightenment gave birth to liberal movements, but the isolated Haredi communities remained oppressive and authoritarian. This has had profound, negative repercussions for Israeli culture and politics. Read more
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Interview on “Dangerous Speech” Podcast
Pleased to say that I very recently had a stimulating discussion of my book’s primary themes on Obaid Omer’s popular podcast “Dangerous Speech.” Omar, residing in Montreal, is interested in exploring illiberal trends in Canada and the US and their repercussions for our lives and liberties. Roughly the first half of this 53 minute conversation Read more
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Interview on “Third Opinion” Podcast
I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by Mike Deeson, an Emmy-award winning investigative journalist, on the above podcast. It was an open-ended discussion that gave me ample opportunity to describe the main themes of of my book. I appear around the 34th minute of this 56 minute episode. I invite you to listen Read more
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How Haredi Judaism Became Illiberal
In Come Now, Let Us Reason Together I present an extended argument that rabbinic Judaism, the iteration that emerged following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE and reigned until the closing of the (Babylonian) Talmud at the start of the 7th century, was liberal in the classical sense. That is, open-minded, tolerant, Read more
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My Guest Appearance on the “Madlik [Lighting]: Disruptive Torah” Podcast
![My Guest Appearance on the “Madlik [Lighting]: Disruptive Torah” Podcast](https://uncoveringauthenticjudaism.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/pexels-photo-6549344.jpeg)
How Karl Popper’s philosophy can enhance our understanding of Torah. Read more
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Hillel: the First Great Classical Liberal
Hillel was almost certainly the most respected Jewish leader in the four decades following the Roman destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. This was, of course, the period in which rabbinic Judaism was born. Hillel is known for a number of things, but here I wish to focus on three Talmudic stories about Read more