Dr. Israel Drazin served for 31 years in the US military and attained the rank of Brigadier General. He has a PhD in Judaic Studies and a Masters Degree in psychology and a Masters Degree in Jewish Literature. He is an attorney and a rabbi.
He developed the legal strategy that saved the military chaplaincies when its constitutionality was attacked in court, and received the Legion of Merit for his service.
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He was the scholar who recognized that the Aramaic translation Targum Onkelos took hundreds of items from the Tannaitic Midrashim, which were edited around 400 CE; therefore, the Targum must have been composed after that date, a period much later than had been widely accepted.
He is the author of more than 50 books, including a series of five volumes on the Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible, and a series of books on the twelfth century philosopher Moses Maimonides, a history of the legal case he handled, and dozens of books on the Bible.
His works, available on Amazon, include:
*A Rational Approach to Judaism and Torah Commentary
*Can’t Start Passover Without the Bread (Children’s Literature) ***
*For God and Country: The History of a Constitutional Challenge to the Army Chaplaincy
*Maimonides and the Biblical Prophets
*Maimonides: Reason Above All
*Maimonides: The Exceptional Mind
*Mysteries of Judaism (Maimonides and Rational)
*Mysteries of Judaism II: How the Rabbis and Others Changed Judaism
*Nachmanides: An Unusual Thinker
*Onkelos on the Torah Understanding the Bible Text (5 Volume Set)**
*Onkelos on the Torah (Book 1: Genesis) **
*Onkelos on the Torah (Book 2: Exodus) **
*Onkelos on the Torah (Book 3: Leviticus) **
*Onkelos on the Torah (Book 4: Numbers) **
*Onkelos on the Torah (Book 5: Deuteronomy) **
*Sailing on Moti’s Ark on Sukkoth (Children’s Literature) ***
*Stories that Teach the Truth: Ecclesiastes, Tobit, Susanna, and Other Stories.
*Studies in Onkelos (Hebrew edition)
*Targum Onkelos to Exodus [2]: An English Translation of the Text with Analysis and Commentary
*Targum Onkelos to Leviticus [3]: An English Translation of the Text with Analysis and Commentary
*Targum Onkelos to Numbers [4]: An English Translation of the Text with Analysis and Commentary
Targum Onkelos to Deuteronomy [5]: An English Translation of the Text with Analysis and Commentary
*The Authentic King Solomon
*The Tragedies of King David
*Understanding Onkelos
*Unusual Bible Interpretations: Five Books of Moses (Maimonides and Rational)
*Unusual Bible Interpretations: Hosea
*Unusual Bible Interpretations: Jonah and Amos
*Unusual Bible Interpretations: Joshua
*Unusual Bible Interpretations: Judges
*Unusual Bible Interpretations: Ruth, Esther, Judith
*What’s Beyond the Biblical Text? **
*Who Really Was the Biblical David?
*Who Was the Biblical Prophet Samuel?
** Co-Authored with Stanley Wagner
** Co-Authored with Leba Lieder
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By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — There are multiple changes in spellings and repetitions in Deuteronomy. This contradicts Rabbi Akiva’s view that God dictated the Torah to Moses, even every letter. He claimed that God is perfect and has no need to repeat what is communicated. If there is a change in […]
Disobedience to God’s Ways Has Consequences Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Dr. Micah Goodman says, “No,” in his new book, “The Last Words of Moses.” Deuteronomy is “a human document authored by Moses whose inclusion in the Bible lends it divine authority. Goodman is a Research Fellow of the Kogod Research Center at Shalom Hartman Institute in
Did God Dictate the Biblical Book Deuteronomy to Moses? Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — One of the ways rabbis and secular scholars acquire a deeper understanding of the Bible is by comparing the events in the story with events in other biblical tales. They also compare two Bible sections that use the same word. David Curwin does both in his
Comparing Biblical Stories With Other Tales Enhances Their Meaning Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — “The Koren Lev Ladaat Humash – Bemidbar” is a superb Bible commentary that is very enlightening. It is filled with information. It prompts readers to think and better understand the Bible. It has clear easy-to-see Hebrew text with the highly acclaimed Koren font and the readable
A Book That Prompts Us to Think Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — All we know about Shlomo ben Yitzchak of Troyes, France, known as Rashi, are his writings. We know no facts about his life. Much has been written about him, but it is all legends. It is commonly thought, for example, that he was born in the
By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — I understand that Jewish laws are valuable because they help us learn how to behave and improve ourselves and society. “Values in Halakha” is by Rabbi Dr. Aharon Lichtenstein (1933-2015). He was an eminent rabbinic scholar and teacher who served as one of the heads of
What is the Value of Jewish Laws? Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Dr. Avigail Rock’s book (1971-2019) “Great Biblical Commentators,” is a very informative, eye-opening, thought-provoking introduction to 24 of the many rabbis and scholars who commented on the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. All of the many who did so could not be listed in the 426 easy-to-read
An Introduction to Jewish Biblical Commentators Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Rabbi Dr. Nachum L. Rabinovitch (1928-2020) authored “Pathways to Their Hearts,” an easy-to-read book by a renowned scholar about how we should think and live. His views are correct. They are based on the rational teachings of the “Great Eagle,” Judaism’s foremost philosopher Maimonides (1138-1204). Rabbi
How Should We Think and Live? Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — The second weekly biblical portion in the third Book of Moses is called Tzav. The Torah addresses the five types of sacrifices mentioned in the prior portion. In the former weekly portion, the focus was on the people bringing the offering. Here it contains instructions for
A Rational Understanding of Numbers and When Shabbat and Years Start Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion
By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Koren Press’ “The Koren Tanakh of the Land of Israel – Leviticus” follows its predecessors on the Biblical books Exodus and Samuel as a third outstanding biblical commentary. It contains a wealth of scholarly information written in an easy-to-read and interesting — even fascinating — fashion
A New Outstanding Commentary on the Biblical Book Leviticus Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — The first weekly portion in the third Book of Moses is called Vayikra. The third book as a whole was initially called in Hebrew Torat Kohanim, “The law of the Priest,” since much of the book deals with the priestly functions of the family of Moses’
Some Rational Ideas About Vayikra and Sacrifices Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Two biblical Torah portions are read this week. The portion of Vayakhel, Exodus 35:1-38:20, contains the Sabbath law, which the rabbis translated as “You shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the Sabbath day,” which the Sadducees translated as “You shall have no fire throughout
Rational Thoughts on Vayakhel, Pekudei, Shabbat, Synagogues, and More Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — The weekly portion of Ki Thissa begins with counting the adult male Israelites from age twenty, by each giving a half shekel so “that there not be a plague among them when you count them,” and raises the question if this is superstition. This is followed by
Thoughts on the Torah Portion Ki Tisa, Superstition, and Rabbinical Judaism Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — The current practice is that Purim is celebrated as a one-day holiday. Cities that were walled at the time of Joshua’s conquest of Israel – most notably Jerusalem – celebrate Purim on the 15th of Adar to recall the end of hostilities in the walled city
Today, Purim is Practiced Differently Than the Biblical Requirement Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion