Check out my latest book!
Why I wrote the book (3 mins)
Death & compassion (4 mins)
Three Kraters Podcast (2 hrs)
Category Archives: Bible
Chaos and Creation, from Genesis to Today
My new blog post for The Jewish Journal: You might not expect it, but the very first words of the Torah explain how social change works. The most familiar English rendering is “In the beginning, God created the heavens and … Continue reading
The Weirdest Torah Theory You Never Heard
My latest blog post for The Jewish Journal: It’s a weird theory about the Torah. You’ve never heard of it. And it’s really a thing. Of course, you’ve heard of other theories. The documentary hypothesis says that ancient editors assembled … Continue reading
Organizing the Bible and the Talmud
My latest blog post for The Jewish Journal: Do you know what it says in the Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 8, verse 3? Unless you’re a rabbi or a savant, you probably don’t. Neither do I. But we know how … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Judaism, The Jewish Journal
Tagged Bomberg Talmud, Magna Carta, Rashi, Stephen Langton
2 Comments
Biblical Writers Were Math Nerds
My latest blog post for The Jewish Journal: We normally look to the Bible for morals, religious inspiration, and history. But are you excited to learn that there’s some mathematics in there, too? If you’re a nerd like me, the … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, The Jewish Journal
Tagged Euler's Number, Golden Ratio, Math in the Bible, Pi, Posamentier, Vilna Gaon
2 Comments
Tisha B’Av Turns Tragedy into Victory
My latest blog post for The Jewish Journal: “They tried to kill us. We won. Let’s eat.” According to the late comedian Alan King, that’s the explanation of most Jewish holidays. It’s particularly relevant to the fast day of Tisha … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Modern Orthodoxy, The Jewish Journal
Tagged Alan King, Dunkirk, First Temple, Positive attitude, Reframing, Second Temple, Tisha B'Av
4 Comments
Seeing the Reality Beyond “You”
My new blog post for The Jerusalem Post: What’s real and what isn’t? How do you know? Could there be different kinds of realities that you know in different ways? The greatest thinkers, both Jewish and gentile, have given the … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Philosophy, The Jerusalem Post
Tagged Arthur Green, Genesis, Hebrew, Hebrew College, These Are The Words, Torah
Leave a comment
What You Admire, You Can Become
My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: Moses was a world-changing individual. We know that. But sometimes, we don’t appreciate how far his influence extends. I’ve been reading British historian Paul Johnson’s excellent A History of the Jews. His account … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Philosophy, The Jerusalem Post
Tagged Admiration, Brand Blanshard, Character, Heroes, History of the Jews, Moral Ideal, Moses, Paul Johnson, Torah
Leave a comment
Torah Parallels Are No Problem
My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: Were the Jews the first people to think of monotheism? And would it matter if we weren’t? Such questions tend to worry Biblical scholars when they start comparing our Torah with other … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Modern Orthodoxy, The Jerusalem Post
Tagged Atrahasis, Biblical Parallels, Blanshard, Gilgamesh, Maimonides, Moses Mendelssohn, Prophecy, Revelation, Saadia, Saadya, Spinoza, Torah
1 Comment
The Jewish Roots of Modern Science
Must we choose between science and religious faith? Many people think so. On the scientific side, we find pop atheists such as Sam Harris, who believes that “religious faith is one of the most perverse misuses of intelligence we have … Continue reading
Putnam’s Predicament — And Ours
My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: “You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.” That was one of my father’s favorite adages, second only to “talk is cheap.” It means that if you eat your cake, you … Continue reading
The Thousand-Year View 