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Rabbi Israel Drazin[/caption]
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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People can even learn how to improve themselves from stories about dreams, such as Jacob’s dream of a ladder reaching to heaven, found in Genesis 28:10-22. (Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin)
Wisdom comes from many sources, even from dreams Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Fiction, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined ContributorsThe tale turns to two timelines. In 1938, while Nazi Germany was in turmoil, young Sarah Frank escaped persecution against Jews. She finds refuge in a traveling circus populated by lion trainers, acrobats, elephant handlers, and interesting, sometimes strange people. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Novel is based on what an old lion swallowed Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Fiction, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food
The controversial reception to Dad’s Marriage Made in Heaven stemmed primarily from its explicit and frank discussion of sexual intimacy, which many in the Orthodox rabbinate in 1958 considered inappropriate for public consumption. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Love, marriage, and sex as told by my father, a rabbi Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USAThe authors created a text that speaks simultaneously to the intellectually curious reader, the seeker of religious inspiration, and the conversion student searching for a reliable and comprehensive guide. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin}
‘Essentials of Judaism’ will please life-long Jews and those studying for conversion Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Staff and Bylined ContributorsHe is likely correct that Spinoza was convinced that God does not intervene in history, perform miracles, reward, punish, or listen to prayers – other Jewish thinkers said the same thing while never denying God’s existence. But he is clearly wrong to suppose that when Spinoza said we can see God in nature, he meant God does not exist. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Was Spinoza an atheist? Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined ContributorsThe volume contains Maimonides’ Introduction to Mishne Torah, Sefer Hamadda and Sefer Ahava, in Hebrew and English, with Ravad’s glosses on Maimonides’ text. (Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin)
Maimonides and his critics engage in a halakhic discussion in this Steinsaltz edition Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined ContributorsThe emotional range is extraordinary and serves as a splendid message and lesson for readers. One page may have readers smiling at a soldier’s wit; the next may be almost unbearable because of its honesty. No letter romanticizes war. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Last letters of Israeli soldiers poignant, witty, and even joyous Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Lifestyles, Obituaries & memorials, Staff and Bylined ContributorsAlthough living in the southern kingdom of Judea, he felt called by God to prophesy in the northern Kingdom of Israel during a time of the latter country’s enormous prosperity and demeaning inequality (c. 760 BCE). (Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin)
‘Amos: The Genius of Prophetic Rhetoric’ is superb Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined ContributorsThe book chronicles Israel’s transition from a confederation of tribes led by judges to a united monarchy under kings, covering the lives of Samuel (the last judge), Saul (the first king), and David’s rise to power. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Book on I Samuel combines religious scholarship, easy-to-read writing Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined ContributorsRather than presenting a verse-by-verse commentary, he focuses on major themes and evolving events in the narrative. He shows how a group of enslaved people became a nation bound by shared laws, rituals, and a collective national mission. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Book on Exodus is mind-expanding and enjoyable Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined ContributorsThe recently produced film Immigrant Songs: Yiddish Theater and the American Jewish Experience depicts one of the most delightful yet often overlooked chapters of American Jewish cultural history. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Documentary on Yiddish Theatre both educational and entertaining Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USAThe board of Shaarei Tfiloh begged Dad to allow the synagogue to move uptown, but Dad said it was wrong; it was immoral and disrespectful. By the early 1960s, after many Jews fled to the suburbs, there were only about 500 congregants on the High Holidays, down from 1500. Dad’s salary was severely reduced, but he still refused to move. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
My Dad, Nathan Drazin, was a Hero Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Obituaries & memorials, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA
Maimonides composed his landmark philosophical work, The Guide for the Perplexed (Moreh Nevukhim in Hebrew), in Judeo-Arabic, written in Fustat (Old Cairo), Egypt. The treatise aimed to reconcile Jewish theology with Aristotelian philosophy and was addressed to his student, Rabbi Joseph ben Judah of Ceuta. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
An excellent book about Maimonides Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Israel, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors
Rabbi Amnon Bazak’s second volume on the biblical book of Samuel is superb, far better than the many classical commentators he frequently mentions. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Bazak keeps to literal interpretation of Torah in II Samuel Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors