Tag: jewish theology
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The Almighty Defers to Rabba bar Nahmani on a Question of Jewish Law!
In my book I point to many instances where biblical figures challenge or argue with God, including Avraham, Moses, Job, and Jonah. None of these men are punished for their effrontery, although Jonah is taught a somewhat painful moral lesson. Similarly, the Talmud includes a number of stories in which the rabbis argue with or Read more
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Judaism Loves Controversy as the Royal Road to Truth
Authentic Judaism is pluralistic, open-minded, tolerant, and welcoming of controversy. In short, “liberal” in the classic sense. This short video illustrates this attribute with a famous Talmudic story. I explore this important topic in much greater depth in my book, Come Now, Let Us Reason Together: Uncovering the Torah’s Liberal Values. Read more
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The Evolution of the Oral Law
The Oral Law wasn’t from Sinai, but rather a natural development within the Jewish diaspora. Read more
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Abraham Challenges God!
My previous post discussed the Book of Job, and how it encourages us to challenge injustice, even when it appears to come from the Almighty himself. Genesis, chapter 18, sounds a similar theme, except that God actually invites Abraham to object to His decision to obliterate Sodom and Gomorrah so that the Almighty can reassure Read more
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God Wants To Be Challenged!
Judaism does not demand blind obedience to God’s commands. Quite the opposite: the Tanakh is filled with numerous examples of biblical figures who challenge the perceived injustice of God’s moral order, including Abraham, Moses, Job, Jonah, and Kohelet (Ecclesiastes). Job’s challenge is perhaps the most dramatic and poetic example, and the short video below illustrates Read more
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There’s No One Right Way To Practice Judaism
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Does the Great Rabbi Akiva Have Feet of Clay? The Oven of Akhnai, Part II
The first half of the Talmud’s Oven of Akhnai narrative ends with the death of R. Gamliel, implicitly as punishment for his humiliation of his colleague, R. Eliezer. The deliberate humiliation of another Jew is a grave crime under Jewish law, and when Gamliel ignored God’s warning he was appropriately punished. The conclusion of this Read more
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The Coming Jewish Schism Over Zionism
Until recently most Jewish congregations viewed a commitment to Zionism as an essential aspect of “authentic Judaism.” To be clear, I am using “Zionism” in its most abstract sense, to mean simply that the Jewish people are entitled to a state in their ancestral homeland, not tied to any particular borders, governance, economic structures, etc. Read more
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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