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.
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
By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — The story of Peter Abelard (1079-1142) and Heloise (1095-1163) is considered a great medieval love story. We have still today Abelard’s autobiography and letters between the parties, so we know much but not all of the love story. James Burge’s Heloise and Abelard is an interesting […]
Abelard & Heloise: A medieval love story Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr.By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — There are many instances where both Jews and non-Jews tell stories with some variations on the same plot. In many of these instances, the Jewish version attempts to use its version to teach Jews proper behavior. The following is an example. Rip Van Winkle Washington Irving (1783-1859)
How a Jewish tale differs from others Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Most people are convinced that there are comparatively few Jews in the world, only about 13.3 million in 2001, about 1.4 percent of the world population. Of these 4.9 million lived in Israel and 8.3 million outside the Holy Land. Logic would dictate that the actual
Those of Jewish blood quite populous Read More »
International, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle East, USABy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — During the holiday of Shavuot, the practice in many synagogues is to read the beautiful biblical book Ruth. Various reasons attempt to explain the practice including that Ruth is said to have converted to Judaism around the time of Shavuot and so did the Israelites when
Shavuot and the reading of the Book of Ruth Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Whether one agrees with Michael Shapiro’s listings in his 1995 book The Jewish 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Jews of all Time or not, the book should make us think not only whether we would agree with his selections, whether we would delete
Who’d be on your ‘Top 100’ list of Jews? Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jerry Klinger, Jewish History, Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Young Abraham differed from what we think. Everything written about Abraham as a young man is midrashic. They are imaginative events, not based on anything in the Torah. A close reading of the Torah reveals a totally different young Abraham than the fictional midrashic accounts. What
What was biblical Abraham like as a youngster? Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida –Many religious people of all faiths accept the Five Books of Moses, the Torah, as a divine document. They see that the Torah has many stories and are convinced that they understand the stories which teach them lessons. The truth is different. While the Torah relates
Puzzling an obscure Biblical passage Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — There are remarkable similarities between the biblical story of the flood and the more ancient version of Gilgamesh. The Babylonian epic Gilgamesh was written on twelve tablets around 2000 BCE and has survived in several versions. It was discovered in 1839 among the ruins of a
The floods of Gilgamesh and the Bible Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion, Middle EastBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Greek and Jewish myths, reports and tales appear at first blush to be remarkably similar, but there are stark differences in how each culture views God, the world, the presence of evil, the worth of people, their duty, and their future. Psychologists have recognized that one
Contrasting the Bible with Greek mythology Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — The following is from my book Mysteries of Judaism without the footnotes. The semi-holiday Lag B’omer is based on an unsubstantiated and unlikely tradition. Lag B’omer means the thirty-third day since bringing the barley harvest (omer) to the tabernacle and later temples to thank God for the barley harvest.
The Myth of Lag B’Omer Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Middle EastA Mother’s Day Tip By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — The Greek Hippocrates (about 460–about 377 BCE) is the most famous of all physicians and is considered the father of medicine. Many people of his age, as well as for a long time after his death, considered medicine a part of religion,
Physicians in ancient times warned against over- eating Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & EducationBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Rabbi Dr. Marc D. Angel’s A New World: An American Sephardic Memoir reads like an engrossing novel. It describes the transition of the Angel family from an immigrant Sephardic community into an Americanized group over several generations. In the process, it “reminisces” about the immigrant generation,
Review: ‘A New World: An American Sephardic Memoir’ Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Did Adam have an affair with a demon for 130 years? The book of Genesis tells readers that Adam and Eve’s first two children were Cain and Able. Then in Genesis 5:3, it states that when Adam was 130-years-old he had his third son Seth. The
How long did the people of the Bible live? Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion