Series: Maimonides | Publication Date: March 1, 2009
This engaging and informative book reveals unknown but true facts about the prophetical books of the Bible. Rabbis have avoided many questions raised by the seemingly improbable events in these volumes. This book addresses these questions and takes an open and rational look at the episodes.
<>The book addresses provocative questions such as:
What is the proper way to interpret the Torah?
How does Maimonides understand the episodes of the Prophets?
Did miracles such as the splitting of the Red Sea, the falling of the walls at Jericho, and the sun standing still for Joshua really occur?
What assumptions cause us to misunderstand the Bible?
Is there a biblical mandate prohibiting suicide?
Does the Bible forbid ceding parts of the land of Israel for peace?
Can children be punished for their parents misdeeds, and, if not, why does the Torah say that they are punished?
Why does Shabbat begin at different times for men and women?
Why did significant biblical leaders violate rabbinical laws? What really caused the adding of a day to holidays shortly after the time of Moses?
Why does the Bible not always mean what it appears to say? Is it true that Judaism does not know what happens after death?
Israel Drazin s Maimonides and the Biblical Prophets includes much more than the title indicates. It is a comprehensive review of many aspects of biblical thought and discusses many other fundamentals of Jewish belief. The treatment of these subjects is a rational one and is extremely interesting and thought provoking. It is a valuable contribution to the expanding literature on biblical and Maimonidean interpretation. --Professor Bernard Auerbach (Retired), University of Maryland School of Law
About the Author
srael Drazin is the author of seven books, five of which are on Targum Onkelos. He was the first scholar to recognize that the Targum took hundreds of items from the Tannaitic Midrashim- those that were edited around 400 C.E.-and even incorporated many words found in these Midrashim in his translation. He was able, therefore, to date the Targum Onkelos around 400 C.E., a period much later than is widely accepted, because of the Targum s reliance upon these Midrashim. Dr. Drazin received a number of rabbinic ordinations, and earned a B.A. in theology, an M.Ed. in Psychology, an M.A. in Hebrew literature, a J.D. in law and a Ph.D. in Aramaic literature. He resides in Boca Raton and Jerusalem with his wife, Dina.
Education: Dr. Drazin, born in 1935, received three rabbinical degrees in 1957, a B.A. in Theology in 1957, an M.Ed. In Psychology in 1966, a JD in Law in 1974, a MA in Hebrew Literature in 1978 and a Ph.D. with honors in Aramaic Literature in 1981. Thereafter, he completed two years of post-graduate study in both Philosophy and Mysticism and graduated the U.S. Army's Command and General Staff College and its War College for generals in 1985.
Military: Brigadier General Drazin entered Army Active Duty, at age 21, as the youngest U.S. Chaplain ever to serve on active duty. He served on active duty from 1957 to 1960 in both Louisiana and Germany, and then joined the active reserves and soldiered, in increasing grades, with half a dozen units. From 1978 until 1981, he lectured at the US Army Chaplains School on legal subjects. In March 1981, the Army requested that he take leave from civil service and return to active duty to handle special constitutional issues. He was responsible for preparing the defense in the trial challenging the constitutionality of the Army Chaplaincy; the military chaplaincies of all the uniformed services, active and reserve, as well as the Veteran's Administration, were attacked utilizing a constitutional rational and could have been disbanded. The Government won the action in 1984 and Drazin was awarded the prestigious Legion of Merit. Drazin returned to civilian life and the active reserves in 1984 as Assistant Chief of Chaplains, the highest reserve officer position available in the Army Chaplaincy, with the rank of Brigadier General. He was the first Jewish person to serve in this capacity in the U.S. Army. During his military career, he revolutionized the role of military chaplains making them officers responsible for the free exercise rights of all military personnel; requiring them to provide for the needs of people of all faiths as well as atheists. General Drazin completed this four-year tour of duty with honors in March 1988, culminating a total of 31 years of military duty.
Attorney: Israel Drazin graduated from law school in 1974 and immediately began a private practice. He handled virtually all manners of suits; including, domestic, criminal, bankruptcy, accident and contract cases. He joined with his son in 1993 and formed offices in Columbia and Dundalk, Maryland. Dr. Drazin stopped actively practicing law in 1997, after 23 years, and became "Of Counsel" to the Law Offices of Drazin and Drazin, P.A.
Civil Service: Israel Drazin joined the U.S. Civil Service in 1962 and remained a civil service employee, with occasional leave for military duty, until retirement in 1990. At retirement he accumulated 31 years of creditable service. During his U.S. Civil Service career, he held many positions; including, being an Equal Opportunity Consultant in the 1960s (advising insurance company top executives regarding civil rights and equal employment) and the head of Medicare's Civil Litigation Staff (supervising a team of lawyers who handled suits filed by and against the government's Medicare program). He also served as the director for all Maryland's Federal Agencies' relationship with the United Fund.
Rabbi: Dr. Drazin was ordained as a rabbi in 1957 at Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore, Maryland and subsequently received semichot from two other rabbis. He entered on Army active duty in 1957. He left active duty in 1960 and officiated as a weekend rabbi at several synagogues, including being the first rabbi in Columbia, Maryland. He continued the uninterrupted weekend rabbinical practice until 1974 and then officiated as a rabbi on an intermittent basis until 1987. His rabbinical career totaled 30 years.
Philanthropy: Dr. Drazin served as the Executive Director of the Jim Joseph Foundation, a charitable foundation that gives money to support Jewish education, for just over four years, from September 2000 to November 2004.
Author: Israel Drazin is the author of more than 200 popular and scholarly articles and about 500 book reviews. He wrote a book about the case he handled for the US Army, edited a book on legends, and wrote five scholarly books on the Aramaic translation of the Bible. University Microfilm International published Targumic Studies in 1982. Ktav Publishing House published Targum Onkelos to Deuteronomy in 1983, Targum Onkelos to Exodus in 1988, Targum Onkelos to Leviticus in 1993, and Targum Onkelos to Numbers in 1998. Biblical scholars consistently praise the five scholarly volumes as "copious and excellent." He edited Legends Worth Living, a book written by his father and published by Ktav in 1991. He co-wrote For God and Country, which was published by Ktav in 1995. He and Dr. Stanley Wagner published five books on Targum Onkelos called Onkelos on the Torah. The first four volumes appeared were published and the last will be published in January 2011. His twelfth book is published by Urim Publications, A Rational Approach to Judaism and Torah Commentary. His thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth books were published by Gefen Publishing House: Maimonides: The Exceptional Mind and Maimonides and the Biblical Prophets and Maimonides: Reason Above All in 2008 and 2009. His sixteenth book Let's Study Onkelos, written with Dr. Wagner, appears on the website of the Orthodox Union (OU). He writes articles for jewishideas.org and book reviews for thejewisheye.com and other sites.
Memberships and Awards: Brigadier General Drazin is admitted to practice law in Maryland, the Federal Court, and before the U.S. Supreme Court. He is a member of several attorney Bar Associations and the Rabbinical Council of America. He was honored with a number of military awards, the RCA 1985 Joseph Hoenig Memorial Award, and the JWB 1986 Distinguished Service Award. Mayor Kurt Schmoke, of Baltimore, Maryland, named February 8, 1988 "Israel Drazin Day." A leading Baltimore Synagogue named him "Man of the Year" in 1990. He is included in the recent editions of Who's Who in World Jewry, Who's Who in American Law, Who's Who in Biblical Studies and Archaeology, and other Who's Who volumes.
This review is from: Maimonides: and the Biblical Prophets (Hardcover)
This is a superb book. The current emphasis in Judaism, as in all other faith groups, tends to be conservative. In comparison, Drazin offers a rational and new approach that will open the eyes of his readers, Jews and non-Jews alike. I recommend his book highly. It should be read.
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This review is from: Maimonides: and the Biblical Prophets (Hardcover)
Israel Drazin has wrote an extremely provocative and relevant book on how to view the Bible. He addresses questions like "Did God really part the Red Sea" and gives the reader insight as to how the greatest Jewish Philosopher, Moses Maimonides, views miracles and the natural world.
There are those with a fundamentalist view who will find this book challenging, as Drazin gives a very different way of viewing biblical events. However, for the modern, by interpreting Maimonides and explaining his thought process, Drazin provides a way to view ancient Jewish events from a far more rational perspective.
The book is written in a very logical way. Chapters consist of questions, followed by issues for consideration, and then clear and concise content.
This book is highly recommended, particularly for those who are trying to synthesize modern thinking and Biblical events.
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This review is from: Maimonides: and the Biblical Prophets (Hardcover)
A creative reader, ready to learn a new way of thinking about Jewish traditions and texts, will find an "aha!", if not a "eureka!" moment in every chapter of Maimonides and the Biblical Prophets, by Dr. Israel Drazin.
This is an exploration of the rational exegetical approach championed by Maimonides. It ranges far beyond both Maimonides and the prophetic writings. I found the book exciting because of the challenging heuristic method employed by the author.
Dr. Drazin begins by developing a background for the rational method of interpretation. He then takes us through the application of this approach to 27 troubling passages found in the Bible. These passages are troublesome because they appear to violate the laws of physics, or the laws of human nature, or Halacha, the laws of human behavior spelled out in the Torah. They create a tension in the reader that cries out to be resolved.
Drazin introduces a passage, and points out the core problem. He then examines how a range of commentators have dealt with the apparent contradiction. Next, he develops a rational solution, one that relieves our tension without introducing new problems. And finally, Rabbi Drazin shows that this is a legitimate solution, one that is in accord with similar solutions found in the Talmud and other Jewish texts.
Following the application of Maimonidean rationalism to biblical passages, the focus of the book broadens to include issues such as the dietary laws, the extension of holidays to two days, and Jewish views of the hereafter.
In the concluding section of Maimonides and the Biblical Prophets, the author uses the analytical approach of Maimonides to examine ancient Jewish practices, such as why we announce the new moon in synagogue, the significance of the number seven, sympathetic magic in the Friday evening liturgy, and the traditional belief in the power of The Evil Eye.
Dr. Drazin's use of rational analysis to resolve such a broad range of issues leaves the reader with a comprehensive appreciation of the Maimonidean method.
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