Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr.

[caption id="attachment_119024" align="alignright" width="100"] 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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Jewish Values in the Torah Portion

He tells us that the “idea of ending one’s profession or work due to old age seems to be antithetical to Jewish thought.” The Talmud Kinim 25a states that Torah scholars’ minds hold firm as they age, and the Talmud Shabbat 152a states that the brains of Jewish scholars grow stronger as they grow older. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Author Chronicles Israeli Discrimination against Ethiopian Jews

In We are Black Jews: Ethiopian Jewry and the Journey to Equality in Israel, Roni Fantanesh Malkai provides eye-opening, need-to-know information about the history and difficulties of Ethiopian Jews. We should read it and do our best to get people to treat others as they want others to treat them. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Israel, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Opinion, Shanda File, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Did Biblical Translators Mistranslate a Word as ‘Leprosy?’

There were many biblical words that translators and commentators mistranslated. Tzaraat was one of the many. It is mentioned in the 13th chapter of the fourth biblical portion of Leviticus, Tazri’a 12:1-13:59. Yesterday, I posted an essay showing four mistranslations of the Bible. This is a fifth of the many that exist. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Shadal’s Rational Views on Leviticus

Samuel David Luzzatto (1800-1865), known as Shadal based on the initials of his name, was brilliant. Many people enjoyed his common-sense interpretations of the Torah. However, human nature is what it is; some people dislike and criticize his writing. Some even said he was not religious. I disagree. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Book by Former Ambassador Lays Out the Argument for One Jewish State

David Friedman served as US ambassador to Israel from 2017 to 2021. He was intimately involved in Israel-Arab affairs, met and held talks with leaders of both sides, and was one of the architects of the Abraham Accords. He demonstrates in his brilliant 2024 book One Jewish State why a two-state solution is based on flawed premises and will ultimately fail to solve anything. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA