The TaNaKh is not necessarily religious literature
The TaNaKh is not necessarily religious literature. Yet, even when it speaks of the mundane it invariably hints at the sublime. That’s what makes it such powerful reading. Case in point is Chapter 23 of the Book of Genesis. In the land of Canaan, Abraham—the father of the Israelite and “a multitude of nations”—buys ”a […]
The Sacrifice of Reason Rather Than Isaac’s
It has often been said that Gen. 22 is one of the most beautiful narratives in the Jewish Foundational Literature, one that also has a particularly special place among the narratives of world literature. It also generates one of the most puzzling issues facing religious and moral societies. This is a tale about God testing […]
Are Jews a People?
In Jewish tradition, Abraham is referred to as ‘Avraham Avinu,’ the father of the Jewish people. Lately, however, it has become sort of trendy to question whether Jews are indeed a people. Using a reductionist definition equating “people” with “ethnos,” “nation,” and “race,” some academics, such as emeritus Tel Aviv University history professor Shlomo Sand have […]
Offsetting Evil
Genesis chapter 18 spells out the dilemma of having to confront societies that not only violate the human rights of their citizens but, endanger civilization in its totality. Sodom and Gomorrah serve as the biblical paradigm of those societies. The evils of these societies, as the late Nahum Sarna, Bible Studies professor at Brandeis […]
Origins, History, Destiny, Cultural Individuality, and Unique Collective Solidarity.
“Those whose identities are rarely questioned and who have never known exile or subjugation of land and culture,” wrote Anthony D. Smith, Professor Emeritus of Nationalism and Ethnicity at the London School of Economics, “have little need to trace their ‘roots’ to establish a unique and recognizable identity.” Which should help to explain the Jewish […]
Abrahamic Religions?
The saga of Abraham, Israel’s first ancestor, occupies about fourteen chapters, or roughly twenty pages, in the biblical book of Bereshit (Genesis) “More than any other patriarchal figure,” writes author Amy Dockser Marcus- “Abraham remains a vivid, living presence, a familiar part of daily life—and daily politics—of the Middle East.” An estimated 54% […]
There is Truth, and There Are Lies
the humanity that speaks from this Book today, as it has always done, is the unity under one divine direction that divides right from wrong and truth from lies as unconditionally as the words of the Creator divided light from darkness.” The first eleven chapters of Bereshit (the book of Genesis), tell us that […]
The Hanging Threat of Chaos
The creation story in the first chapters of the Torah would be misunderstood if read simply as an intended report of an event that happened at the beginning of time. A half-baked reading of the first chapter of Bereshit—the Book of Genesis, the first book of the Torah—tells that before the first words of […]
The Meaning of Life
The book of Genesis (Bereshit in Hebrew) purports to answer several vital questions regarding Judaism’s understanding of human life and how it should be conducted. One could say that the first words of Bereshit are there to answer the question of what it means to be a human being.