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.
By 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 ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida –There are two things I have been saying and then a third item came along and surprised me. I mentioned often that there is no concept of “sin” in the Hebrew Bible as a distorting stain upon the soul that requires a kind of supernatural atonement process,
The concept of ‘sin’ is not Jewish Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — My father Rabbi Dr. Nathan Drazin was a very wise man. He was a rabbi in Shaarei Tfiloh Congregation in Baltimore, Maryland for 31 years. I enjoyed listening to his sermons. The one I liked the best concerned his true interpretation of the incident where many
Did Jacob really wrestle with an angel? Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida –There are many interpretations of biblical event that people were taught to believe which are clearly untrue. The following are three examples. Adam lied to his wife resulting in a catastrophe Genesis 2:16-17 states that before Eve was created, “The Lord God commanded the man, saying: ‘You
Some common mistakes about Bible stories Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — The Torah says count weeks, but Jews count days. As I described in detail in my book Mysteries of Judaism, the 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
Rabbis, not Torah, decreed counting days of the Omer Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish ReligionBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Many Jewish practices are not as old as people think and many had no religious significance when first introduced. We do not even know how or when most Jewish practices began and why they began. We can only guess. And in many instances our guesses reveal
Passover Haroset’s mysterious origin Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Travel and Food, VideosBy Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Unlike Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which I describe in my book Mysteries of Judaism, the holiday of Passover did not continue to exist in a radically modified fashion with a new name after the temple was destroyed in 70 CE. It disappeared entirely and Chag
Where did those Passover traditions come from? Read More »
Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion
Click here for related story By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Jordan B. Gorfinkel and Erez Zadok’s 2019 Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel, published by Koren Press, will delight parents and children. There are humorous comics explaining the Haggadah and Seder ceremonies in about half of the book’s 170 pages with the chad
Book Review: Passover Haggadah Graphic Novel Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion