Rabbis “…I have no illusions about what my rabbinic degree certifies me to do. It does not make me a world expert in Torah law…” Author Drew Kaplan Date 27 July 2015 I am a Rabbi. I earned that title by four years of intense study,...
Bible, Talmud “The Rabbis who inherited the biblical story [of Numbers 31] as sacred writ…adopted the strategy of finding meaning in its details…” Author Drew Kaplan Date 16 July 2015 The Rabbis who inherited the biblical story as sacred writ (and...
Sex, Shabbat, Talmud “How did it happen that some Second Temple sources define piety as abstaining from sex on Shabbat, but that the Rabbis defined Shabbat by the embrace of this very activity?” Author Drew Kaplan Date 1 July 2015 How did it happen that some Second Temple sources define piety as abstaining from...
Rabbis “…when you accept money to be a Rabbi, or teach Torah, you are inherently limited by your employer…” Author Drew Kaplan Date 23 June 2015 Chazal are very against using Torah to earn a living for that very reason....
Talmud “There can be no doubt that ‘give others the benefit of the doubt’ is a wickedly tricky piece of rabbinic instruction” Author Drew Kaplan Date 22 June 2015 “With righteousness shall you judge your fellow.” So reads a verse in this morning’s...
Talmud “Through the power of interpretation, the Jews were able to free themselves from the laws of the Torah…” Author Drew Kaplan Date 2 June 2015 Through the power of interpretation, the Jews were able to free themselves from the...
Gender, Talmud “The metaphor of sex as eating clearly serves as a significant means for rabbis to think about and structure their Torah of sexuality and sexual practices—and of gender and gender relations” Author Drew Kaplan Date 25 March 2015 The metaphor of sex as eating clearly serves as a significant means for rabbis...
Jews in America, Rabbis “…this is what it’s come to. Rabbis today in America have to be proficient in the language of Iranian sanctions…” Author Drew Kaplan Date 11 February 2015 Not long ago, I was sitting with a group of fellow rabbis when the...
Jews in America, Rabbis “…in the postwar era, the dominant face of American Orthodoxy was that of Yeshiva University-trained rabbis…” Author Drew Kaplan Date 15 January 2015 …in the postwar era, the dominant face of American Orthodoxy was that of Yeshiva...
Rabbis “The rabbinate will become a healthier profession when…rabbis are able to become full-fledged human beings once again” Author Drew Kaplan Date 9 January 2015 It’s time to pull your rabbi down from the pedestal. The rabbinate will become...