Biblical Criticism challenges a traditional dogma that all the text of the Torah that we have in our possession today was written down by Moses on the instruction of God during one brief historical period over three thousand years ago. Does this mean that it is incompatible with the belief of Torah Min Hashamayim (Torah from Heaven)? Certainly, the Torah can be from heaven even if it is not from Moses. But what about Torah MiSinai? Does accepting the findings of academic biblical scholarship mean that it is necessarily incompatible with the idea of Torah MiSinai? This essay explores the possibility that the two worldviews are more complementary than many Jews seem to think.
Author: Jeremy Rosen
The Time of the Year
This month before the Yamim Noraim, Days of Awe, is the time to start thinking about our souls rather than our politics. I have always loved words, their sounds and their meanings, in Hebrew and English. So that when I reflect on myself and ideas that I value, the first thing I do is examine what I mean by the…
The MoMA and History
I am a member of the New York Museum of Modern Art. It is a cultural icon. I have always believed that public art galleries and museums ought to be neutral on matters of politics, even if individual artists obviously are not. Once upon a time museums and galleries in the free world showed art without political judgment. Their values…
Who is afraid of a solar eclipse?
There will be a solar eclipse on August 21st visible across a band of the US for the first time since 1918. Solar eclipses occur when the moon blocks the rays of the sun reaching the earth. There are more lunar eclipses and planetary eclipses. But for us on earth, the solar is the big one. Until a few hundred…
The Last Words of Moses
As Moses is about to die he blesses the tribes of Israel, echoing the blessings that Jacob gave before he died. Like Jacob, he gives a brief one line to Reuben but unlike Jacob he ignores the tribe of Simeon and also gives a very brief line to Judah. But he says much more than Jacob about the tribe of…
Who Was Jeshurun?
Jeshurun is used only twice and both times by Moses. The first time is in Ha’Azinu. Vayishman Yeshurun Vayiva’at. Jeshurun became fat (complacent) and kicked over the traces. Or here in Vezot HaBeraha. There is no God like Jeshurun. Or there is no one before God to compare to Jeshurun. What or who is Jeshurun? Once again, our commentators are…