Dr. Israel Drazin served for thirty-one years as a chaplain in the US Army and attained the rank of brigadier general. He has a PhD in Judaic studies, master’s degrees in psychology and Hebrew literature, and 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 is acclaimed in the scholarly world for proving that the Targum Onkelos must have been composed after 400 CE, a period much later than had been widely accepted. He is the author of fifty-one books, some in the process of being published, including a series of volumes on the Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible, a series of books on the twelfth-century philosopher Moses Maimonides, and many books on the Hebrew Bible published by Gefen Publishing House. His website is www.booksnthoughts.com.

"Rabbi Dr Israel Drazin, a distinguished musmach of Ner Yisrael in Baltimore, in a new work entitled “Mysteries of Judaism” [Gefen Publishing, 2014], “Shavuot: Its Name Does Not Fit Its Current Role,” details the historical origins of the observance of Shavuot from its beginning to well past the destruction of the Second Temple. If you value honesty in the teaching and learning of history, this work is worth your attention." -- Alan Jay Gerber, The Jewish Star June 2014

"The closing chapters of the book relate to the role of women in Orthodox Judaism. Rabbi Drazin laments the injustices to women caused by the rabbinic establishment in Israel in matters of divorce. These problems—although institutionalized in Israel—are also evident in the Orthodox rabbinic courts in the diaspora. Rabbi Drazin admires Rabbi Emanuel Rackman and Rabbi David Hartman for their efforts to ameliorate the status of women in Orthodoxy. He suggests that contemporary rabbinic leadership needs to be more sensitive, creative and courageous in addressing the problems of our time." -- Rabbi Marc D Angel, JewishIdeas.org