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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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A Concise Guide to Halakha: An Overview of Jewish Law, is one of five new books published by Maggid Books which were authored by the recently deceased scholar Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz who authored 60 books and hundreds of articles. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
A New Guide to Jewish Law Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionThere are Shakespearian scholars who feel that Measure for Measure is Shakespeare’s greatest play. This is very possible. It certainly is one of his best. It is very thoughtful. It addresses ancient unresolved problems of human nature that still exist today, and it prompts us to consider the good verses the evil inclination; male dominance over females and the frequent male harassments; the power of the sex drive over the intellect, morality and the inability to control it; hypocrisy, irony, religion, and other conflicts that invade all humans at times and are often unresolvable. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Measuring ‘Measure for Measure’ Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Theatre, Film & BroadcastMaggid Books has published a new five-volume series by the recently deceased scholar Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz that inform readers in easy to read English of the fundamentals of Judaism. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Steinsaltz’s Posthumous Introduction to Judaism Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionVirtually the entire Bible is either obscure or ambiguous. This not a criticism. Some scholars and I have noted that all very good literature is obscure or ambiguous. This enhances what is written. It gives the reader an opportunity to interpret what is being read. It is as if there are two writers of what is written both the original author and the reader. As a result, the reader gets more out of the writing than the writer composed. In addition, in regard to biblical law, it gives the religious leaders of the Jews an opportunity to reinterpret the obscurity to correspond to modern times [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
The Tower of Babel ‘Trial’ Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionThe ancient religious Jewish group Pharisees, who existed from about 320 BCE until 70 CE, and the rabbis who followed them changed all of the Jewish practices and holidays in some ways. Let’s look at the laws of counting the omer, called in Hebrew Sefirat Ha’Omer, and the holiday of Shavuot. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Why do we count the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot? Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionRabbi Samuel ben Meir, known as Rashbam (c. 1085–c. 1158), a grandson of Rashi, was the author of a superbly rational commentary on the Bible and Talmud. Rashbam wrote in his commentary on Genesis 1:5 that the biblical day began at daybreak. The Torah states in Genesis 1 that God performed certain acts of creation on the first day; then there was evening and then morning when the first day ended, and God began new activities in the morning of the second day. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Biblical days started at daybreak not sunset Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish ReligionThe biblical holiday Passover ceased to exist when the temple was destroyed in 70 CE. It disappeared entirely and Chag Hamatzot’s name was changed to Passover. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
The origins of modern Passover customs Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionAfter the Seder meal is eaten and the benchen, the Grace after Meals, is recited, a fourth cup of wine is filled, and the following actions are performed:
-According to the custom of many people, an additional fifth cup is poured for Elijah,
-A door is opened,
-Some people place a picture at the door entrance showing Elijah blowing a shofar announcing the arrival of the messiah,
-Some families have one of the participants rush out of the door and then reappear as Elijah,
-Some families also exclaim baruch haba, baruch haba, “welcome welcome,” when the door is opened,
-A paragraph that originated in the Middle Ages containing three parts, each of which say the same thing, is then recited,
(Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Superstitions Behind Opening the Door for Elijah Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionThe Israelites’ first Passover, celebrated in Egypt just prior to the exodus and described in Exodus 12:1-11, was radically different from the Torah mandated holiday observed after the exodus. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
First Passover Looked Ahead to Liberation Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionOften when I hear people wanting to destroy statues of historical figures and burn books of authors who mentioned something they considered wrong, even though these men and women also did good things and are part of our history, I wonder what they would do with the Hebrew Bible if they found out that all the men and women mentioned in the Hebrew Bible arguably did something wrong, such as King David’s adultery. The only totally innocent good man in the Hebrew Bible is Job, and that story according to many rabbis and scholars is just a parable. By pointing out the wrongs, the Torah is telling us that the biblical heroes were humans like us. The Bible does not expect any human to never do wrong. We should learn from these narratives to strive to be as good as we can be. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Thomas Jefferson, Religion, and the Cancel Culture Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, USAThe late Dr. Howard Rubenstein’s translation of the famed Greek playwright Aeschylus’ play Agamemnon is a brilliant work. It is the first modern, very readable, very interesting and educational translation of an important classic with a wealth of explanatory information. The problem with former translations is that its English is outdated, stilted, and often hard to understand. Dr. Rubenstein’s version was performed in 1997 in California and in 2002 in Florida with high acclaim. The work is so good that it should become part of the literature courses in upper high school grades and in colleges. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Rubenstein’s ‘Agamemnon’ wins posthumous plaudits Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Theatre, Film & BroadcastThe biblical book Esther made a significant impact upon Americans, Jews and non-Jews, as seen in the new book Esther in America.
As I described in detail in my book Ruth, Esther, and Judith, the biblical book Esther is in no way similar to what many think the book contains. Most noteworthy is that it contains no mention of God and no indication that the Judeans observed any biblical command. Even when the Judeans fasted when prompted by Esther’s request, no mention is made that they prayed for divine aid. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Book Review: Esther in America Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionWhile I am an Orthodox Jew, I recognize that I as well as all people of all religions can learn much from Buddhists and others. The greatest Jewish philosopher, the rational thinker Maimonides, reminded us that the truth is the truth no matter what its source. Not only rational philosophers, but even mystics stressed Maimonides’ teaching about taking truths from all sources, Jewish and non-Jewish. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
Lessons from Buddhists Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr.The Trojan Women is a superb translation and adaptation of a splendid play by Euripides (about 480 to about 406 BCE) who wrote tragedies in ancient Athens. Scholars estimate that he wrote over 90 plays, most of which have been lost during the past 2,500 years. Only about a dozen and a half survived. The Trojan Women was first performed in 415 BCE. It is based in large part upon the classic Iliad by Homer which describes the war between the Greeks and Trojans. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]
An Ancient Still-Relevant Play about War’s Ravages Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Theatre, Film & Broadcast