Book of Genesis

As the world watches a man attempt to sacrifice his son in response to quiet voice in his head, it should give us pause for other such moments in history carried out by men we now deem holy.

The hope is that we don't become so wedded to a given belief that we insulate ourselves from introspection and a willingness to say "I was wrong" when warranted by the facts.

Having told us that Isaac is Abraham's son, why does the verse go on to state that Abraham gave birth to Isaac? The Sages have taught us that such a redundancy in the Torah must come to teach us something we might not have realized or understood without it.

Two short scriptures beckon for our attention as we find ourselves amid this season called Lent.

In recent weeks, there have been reports of the escalating tensions in Israel between some in the ultra-Orthodox community and the general Israeli populace.

It is a seemingly never-ending cycle that entangles the lives of even the most righteous of individuals. Unrequited desire usually leads to dire consequences.

Sarah lives 100 years, 20 years and seven years. One hundred and 27 are the years of Sarah's life. She dies in Hebron in Canaan, where Abraham goes to eulogize and to bewail her.

Abraham, the humble servant, approaches God to make a deal: "For 50 righteous men, you'll still destroy the city? How can you bring death to the righteous in the same breath as the wicked?"

The story of creation begins again this week in synagogues around the world. This annual cosmic rewind gives each of us a chance to deepen our thinking about the stories we heard as children.

I will celebrate Simchat Torah and hear again the chanting of the Creation, look at our tree and pray that the world will come to be what it should be.

The distinction that he proposed between Gen 1:1-2:3 and 2:4-3:24 anticipated a broader scholarly distinction between priestly and non-priestly sources behind the Pentateuch.

For most people, science deserves its reputation for being opposed to religion. I'm not thinking of the rather noisy campaign by a handful of die-har...

In the face of a conflict between science and the Bible, Calvin urged his readers not to reject science nor to ignore the Bible, but to understand the Bible differently.

If we have the wit to let go the old beliefs about the Bible and seek behind the shadows to the source of light itself, it becomes apparent that science and scripture are not mutually exclusive but entirely complementary.