Tag: Rabbinic Judaism
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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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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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Judaism is Open-Minded and Pluralistic
There is a famous Talmudic story that I believe does not get enough attention, as it exemplifies Judaism’s liberal (old, classic sense) character. It recounts (b. Eruv. 13b) that there was a three-year halakhic (legal) dispute between the academies of Hillel and Shammai, two great sages who emerged in the immediate aftermath of the Second 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
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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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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