Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr.

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — There are two things I have been saying, and then a third item came along and surprised me. I mentioned often that there is no concept of “sin” in the Hebrew Bible as a distorting stain upon the soul that requires a kind of supernatural atonement

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Even rationalists like me can read, enjoy, and learn from the writings of mystics. We do not have to accept everything they say as being true, but there are things they say which are true. Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook [1] was born in Latvia in

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — In my book, Unusual Bible Interpretations: Ruth, Esther, and Judith,  I showed that Judith, in the apocrypha, the book Jewish ancestors decided not to include in the Bible, was more observant of Jewish practices than Ruth and Esther. The rabbis did not see this in this

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida –The Bible says nothing about life after death. It does not mention heaven or garden of Eden as a future abode of reward and Hell as a place of punishment after death. Maimonides states in his work Chelek that heaven is not an area where the good

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin        BOCA RATON, Florida — If people would take the time to look at the bulletin of an Orthodox Synagogue, they would find something very curious. The women are instructed to light candles several minutes before the men are scheduled to leave the home to attend the Mincha