Grappling with faith, rationalism, bible criticism, and sacred myths
Overview: A ten-point analysis of the historical, theological, and moral nature surrounding the fascinating book of Esther and its enduring legacy, as well as the fast day of Esther. ...
Overview: An increasingly popular myth among antisemites, claiming that Ashkenazim descend from the Khazar kingdom. We will debunk this myth using literary evidence, historical records, genetic studies, linguistics and onomastics,...
Overview: A summary of what we know about early Israelite history, starting from its conception down to its destruction and rebirth. Discusses genetics, the Exodus, the twelve tribes of Israel,...
Overview: Exploring various elements in the dating of Deuteronomy. Showing both sides of the aisle in the research of Deuteronomy’s laws, language, and theology in attempt to date the book....
Overview: The ancient genre of metaphor and the indications that early Genesis was not intended as literal history. This would reconcile the issues of Evolution and Genesis. The approach to...
Overview: Summary of both the evidence for and against an Israelite Exodus and the responses of each side. The element of embellishment in ancient story-telling and the possible ramifications of...
Overview: A brief history of the Dreidel, originating in the Near East and becoming popular in Europe in the 16th-century, eventually seeping into Jewish culture, and now a popular Chanukah...
Overview: Challenging the literal interpretation of 600,000 leaving Egypt. Giving scriptural-friendly and archaeological-friendly alternatives to the common notion of the mass exodus from Egypt. What first may appear as...
Overview: The earliest Menorahs in the archaeological record, Josephus on the Menorah’s shape, the rabbinic and Maimonidean view, and the Chabad movement. “And six branches coming out of its sides:...
Overview: A general outline of the arguments for and against the historical credibility of Patriarchal Genesis, the responses of each side, by comparing it to ancient documents from that time....
Overview: The history of Chanukah and what the celebration is really all about. The civil war, religious oppression, and the victories. Nowadays, the holiday of Chanukah is often celebrated as...
Overview: Arguments for early authorship, arguments for later authorship, legends based on kernels of truth, legends that served political and ideological agendas, and the several layers found within the book...
Overview: the lack of the oil miracle in early sources, possible solutions, and perhaps the true reason for lighting the Menorah candles. “What is Chanukah? The sages taught that on...
Overview: The differences of deity worshipping in the ancient world, the biblical conception of God, the inferior gods in Tanakh, and what makes Judaism unique as a monotheist belief system....
Overview: How we got to the year 5781 and how the traditional Jewish year is based on several questionable assumptions, each assumption making it less and less likely. Religious Jews...
Overview: An overview of the arguments concerning the legality of worship outside of Jerusalem in ancient Israel. The arguments for and against as well as the possible responses. Before...
Overview: Narrowing down the various ‘yeridas hadoros’ misconceptions to the few possibilities of its true meaning, from a rational and empirical perspective with rabbinic texts to support the conclusions. ...
Overview: Patrilineality in biblical times, Ezra’s reforms, the reasons why later rabbis changed the status quo, and the fringe rabbinic views eventually blurred out. This question has theological implications, political...
Overview: 10 basic arguments for evolution and how it works with Torah. Arguments from geology, biology, geography, physics, DNA, and Genesis itself. Following that are 10 arguments that anti-evolutionists make...
Overview: When he wrote, what he wrote, on what he wrote, what script he used, were there in-between word spaces, and more. This discussion comes with the premise that Moses...
Overview: The evidence for late Zohar authorship, Moshe DeLeon as the prime candidate, responses to the issues raised, and why it’s all irrelevant to the authenticity of Zohar. Many...
Overview: A discussion on the different opinions and archeological evidence for the origins of the Israelite God YHWH, as well as a discussion of how to square it with belief...
Overview: The three overall approaches, the issues with the extremes, the middle-path of embellishment, metaphor, myth and legend. The consequences of errancy in Tanakh for Judaism as a whole. From...
Overview: A discussion about the constant and obvious repetition and contradictions within the Flood narrative. The two sources theory, the counter arguments from the Epic of Gilgamesh and chiasm, and...
Overview: Four possible solutions to one of the most glaring contradictions in the Torah. Were the Israelites in Egypt for 430 years, for 400, or for 210? The issue...
Overview: A study identifying the people-nations in Genesis Ch. 10. The glaring absence of any nations and civilizations beyond the known world of the ancient Near East, including the great...
Overview: Origins of the main Torah laws, its influence from other cultures, and the areas where Torah advanced novel revolutionary ideas to the world. Torah is definitely the most influential...
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