Biblical Commentary
Sh’lah L’kha: Send Yourself
Wednesday, May 29, 2013 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
"Send men to scout the land"—and the mysterious word that's missing from that translation. (Click here for source sheet.) Download Emor: Saying Without Speaking
Wednesday, April 24, 2013 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
This time, when Moses speaks to Aaron, he must say it—and say it again. (Click here for source sheet.) DownloadKi Tissa: Singing and Sinning
Wednesday, February 27, 2013 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
What was the sound that Joshua heard, and what did Moses say about it? (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:11:15T’tzaveh: What Was Aaron Wearing?
Wednesday, February 20, 2013 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
After Leviticus, Aaron's breastplate (hoshen) is never mentioned again. But the mysterious ephod appears several times in the Prophets—as an idol. (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:10:18T’rumah: God Among Men
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
God chooses to live among the Israelites—but what kind of place does He want? (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:11:01Mishpatim: Cracking the Covenant Code
Wednesday, February 6, 2013 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
The goring ox—to whom it belongs, and whom it gores. (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:12:05Yitro: Men of the People
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
It's all about the am, "the people"—but who is included? (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:10:52Va’era: Confronting Leviathan
Wednesday, January 9, 2013 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
Moses, snakes, and serpents—and what all that has to do with the story of creation. (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:11:46Vay’hi: Echoes of Abraham
Wednesday, December 26, 2012 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
Two allusions to the story of Abraham make one thing clear: Joseph's getting thrown off the bus. (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:10:18Toldot: Scenes from a Marriage
Tuesday, November 13, 2012 by Torah Talk with Michael Carasik | Jewish Ideas Daily » Weekly Portions
This week, Isaac prays "on behalf of" his wife—but that's not what the Hebrew really means. (Click here for source sheet.) Download | Duration: 00:10:45
Editors' Picks
No Compromise Ben Elton, ThinkJudaism. Accepting contemporary biblical scholarship amounts to "rejecting the attitude toward the Torah held by every Jew until Spinoza and every traditional Jew since."
The Samaritan Torah Chavie Lieber, Tablet. The Samaritan version of the Torah, recently translated into English, differs from the Masoretic text in 6000 instances—but has far fewer discrepancies with the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Remembering Geza Vermes Mark Goodacre, NT Blog. An authority on the early history of both Judaism and Christianity, Geza Vermes, who passed away this week, translated the Dead Sea Scrolls and revolutionized the academic study of Jesus.
Genesis' Afterlife Ronald Hendel, Jon Levenson, Moment. Are modern Bible commentaries more reliable than traditional interpretations—or simply founded on different methodological premises?
Moses, the Philosopher King Lawrence H. Schiffman, LawrenceSchiffman.com. Through his rationales for the commandments, Josephus bolsters his conception of Moses "as a kind of philosopher king whose legislation was totally wise and just."
Patriarchs on the Couch Leonard Greenspoon, Bible History Daily. Attempts to subject biblical characters to modern psychoanalysis, which have branded Abraham, Moses, and Samson psychotic, reflect “reckless disregard for millennia of careful exegesis.”
Torah from Sinai? Marc B. Shapiro, Seforim. Today, Mosaic authorship of the Torah is an Orthodox principle of faith. But, "in medieval Ashkenaz, it was not regarded as heretical to posit post-Mosaic additions."
Playing Politics with God Jonathan Neumann, Commentary. Examining the dynamics of Israelite society, Michael Walzer finds politics "largely missing" from the Bible. But he ignores the politics of the Israelites' relationship with God.
Benedict and the Bible Meir Y. Soloveichik, Weekly Standard. Benedict XVI "began and ended his papacy by celebrating the Hebraic, traditional Jewish understanding of love and marriage."
When the Sun Stood Still Natan Slifkin, Rationalist Judaism. Copernicus' heliocentrism, though embraced by many Jews, threatened Judaism—not by displacing man from the center of the universe but by elevating him to the heavens.