Name: Mysteries of Judaism
Brand: Gefen Publishing House (IS)
SKU: 9789652296511
Price: 18.99 GBP
Availability: InStock

Mysteries of Judaism

By (author): Israel Drazin

Published by Gefen Publishing House (IS)

Temporarily Out-of-Stock Available to Pre-order

£18.99

Format: Paperback
Pages: 192
ISBN: 9789652296511
Publication Date: 16-Apr-2014

Subjects:
Judaism

Quantity

"Judaism today is radically different from the Judaism described and mandated in the Torah, writes Rabbi Israel Drazin, a noted authority on Jewish life, history and thought. Around the time of the destruction of the Temple, rabbinic reinterpretation changed both the observance and the religious significance attributed to the festivals. Thus, the biblical day of Passover on Nissan 14 was totally eliminated and the seven-day holiday called the Festival of Matzot, beginning Nissan 15, was renamed Passover. Likewise, the biblical holidays Yom Teruah and Yom Habikurim were transformed into Rosh Hashanah and Shavuot. The practice of building huts during Sukkot is likely more tied to the lack of lodging space in Jerusalem during the harvest festival than any biblical origin, says the rabbi. This book challenges some of the basic assumptions about Judaism, showing how many of them are nowhere to be found in the Hebrew Bible, and some even have their origins in pagan cultures. It will surprise readers to hear, for example, about bizarre wedding practices, the Queen of Sheba myths, or the fact that classical religious sources are not always right. At its core, , the book stridently challenges discriminatory practices against women, such as the seclusion of women during religious services and the problem of the aguna, women held in failed marriages by husbands who will not provide a religious divorce.. With topics spanning the range of religious practice, Mysteries of Judaism will astonish and enlighten readers as it reveals the complex relationship between biblical and rabbinic Judaism."

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, masters 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 problemsalthough institutionalized in Israelare 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