Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr.

Rabbi Israel Drazin

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

This Week’s Torah Reading: Bo

Can we consider ourselves a moral society if we do not help needy people? The Greek philosopher Aristotle writes that man is a social being. Is it our nature that requires us to help others or something else? Author Ayn Rand took a different approach. She insisted that people should look out for themselves intelligently and be enlightened. Who is right? Is there a middle path? Should stronger nations help poorer nations? [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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

Hebrew Calendar Based on Controversial Approximations

Scholars, such as Azariah de’ Rossi, in his The Light of the Eyes, speculate that the anno mundi — also known as the Hebrew calendar — may have originated around the sixth century, after the Talmudic Period. While this seems to be the date of its origin, it was not until relatively recently that Jews began to use it. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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

Questions about the Biblical Weekly Portion Shemot

Exodus starts by stating that after Joseph and his generation died, and their descendants multiplied exceedingly, “a new king arose who did not know Joseph” (Exodus 1:8). This phrase has many interpretations. It could mean: “who did not fulfill Joseph’s decrees” (Targum Onkelos); he behaved as if he didn’t know Joseph (Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 11a); and he didn’t know him personally (Gersonides). Which makes the most sense? Should we say, “This is obscure”? [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

Two Witnesses Prove God Exists

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — The weekly portion of Haazinu (chapter 32), the penultimate Torah’s ending, is “The Song.” In it, because he realizes the significance of his message, Moses reemphasizes the benefits and consequences derived from observing and disobeying the divine law. Jewish law generally requires, with few exceptions, two

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

Fights Among the Zealots

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Just as fights exist between religious Zionists, they exist among the Zealots. Judaism is destroying itself. Maggid Books in Israel has reprinted the original 1920 version of the classical mystical book “Orot” (Lights), by the famous Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook. The 2023 publication appears in

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Did God Dictate the Biblical Book Deuteronomy to Moses?

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Dr. Micah Goodman says, “No,” in his new book, “The Last Words of Moses.” Deuteronomy is “a human document authored by Moses whose inclusion in the Bible lends it divine authority. Goodman is a Research Fellow of the Kogod Research Center at Shalom Hartman Institute in

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

Comparing Biblical Stories With Other Tales Enhances Their Meaning

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — One of the ways rabbis and secular scholars acquire a deeper understanding of the Bible is by comparing the events in the story with events in other biblical tales. They also compare two Bible sections that use the same word. David Curwin does both in his

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

An Introduction to Jewish Biblical Commentators

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Dr. Avigail Rock’s book (1971-2019) “Great Biblical Commentators,” is a very informative, eye-opening, thought-provoking introduction to 24 of the many rabbis and scholars who commented on the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. All of the many who did so could not be listed in the 426 easy-to-read

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How Should We Think and Live?

By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin BOCA RATON, Florida — Rabbi Dr. Nachum L. Rabinovitch (1928-2020) authored “Pathways to Their Hearts,” an easy-to-read book by a renowned scholar about how we should think and live. His views are correct. They are based on the rational teachings of the “Great Eagle,” Judaism’s foremost philosopher Maimonides (1138-1204). Rabbi

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion