Israel DrazinRecensioni

This is a strange book for several reasons. First, it is not laid out in a normal format. Each chapter is bullet-pointed or numbered and there are no normal paragraph breaks (aside from chapter 21). It feels more like an outline of a book than an actual book.
I think what the author is trying to do is bring up questions that will help you dive into the text for yourself and reason through what it says and doesn’t say in a way that gives you a better understanding of Scripture. But for the most part, this doesn’t land well for me for several reasons:
1) Many of the questions are leading… they only have 1 "correct answer" often indicated by the way the follow-up question is worded. However, the author doesn’t explore what those answers are or why he worded the question in such a way to indicate there’s only one correct answer.
2) Sometimes the author does answer the questions, but probably only about 10% of the time. If the goal is to make the reader think and ask questions, why did he choose to answer these questions while leaving other more consequential questions unanswered?
3) The author asks questions and appears to have done little to no research to find the answer. For example:
"The Torah does not say the name of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Why? What prompted many people to say that the fruit was an apple? Why an apple and not a pear? Isn’t it ironic that they say the forbidden fruit was an apple while today we say the opposite that an apple is a healthy fruit that people should eat: “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”? "
A two-second Google search will tell you that when the Bible was translated into Latin this confusion began. The Latin word for “apple” is mālum, while the Latin word for “evil” is mălum. Only after the Bible was translated into Latin do we start to see apples in depictions of the garden.
4) Some chapters (like chapters 20-22) contain no questions at all. If the point of this book is to provide you with questions to help you dive into the text of Genesis, chapters, and sections like this do little to help in that effort. Instead they prove that he could have done more to flesh out the possible answers to his questions earlier in the book.

Some of the questions in the book are very thought-provoking and good (see chapter 7). But many of the questions are not helpful and diving deeper into the text and will leave the reader wondering why this question is an issue or why this question came up at all.
There are a few other issues I take with the book like on page 13 the where author incorrectly transliterates a passage from Hebrew to English as (aher instead of asher) which is a very different meaning. Luckily he translates it into English correctly, but I think this misspelling is more important than an English typo. Because when working with translations there’s a natural desire to be more thorough, aware, and cognizant of what you’re doing.
The last 3 chapters are not on the topic of the book and feel out of place. Chapter 20 is about how we got verses and chapters, and then the last seven pages of the book (chapters 21-22) constitute a second part of the book on the "Mistaken Idea about Jewish Ethic (sic) and Behavior" which has nothing to do with "What we don’t know about God and People in the Bible."
All in all this book feels like it doesn’t know what it wants to be.

I was given this book as an advance reader’s copy by my request in exchange for an honest review.

The interest in the title of book did not hold for me as I saw it as and endless series of questions about what many see as the mystery of the Bible. So much has been placed on the this the most important book and open to endless analysis and explanation, certainly in a right and wrong way. But who is to judge. Some of this is reflected in the theme of the book. Simply there is so much we do not know behind what the Bible is, what it all means, and the whys that are largely left unanswered.

Though it was educational and thought provoking at times. I found myself wanting more explanation as to more in the way of possible answers to the many questions raised. This was not there only wonder as to what this meant or why was this not clear. That is much of the Bible and the mystery endures. Many opinions are derived but driven often by individualized motive. That is the real challenge and this book adds something but not to me in a signifcant way.

I received this book to review as part of the Early Reviewers. It is nice to get a better and clearer understanding and description of the Bible, where in some part topics are brushed over or ignored/not explained completely.

This was a short and extremely interesting book that basically asks questions about scripture and tradition to which we don’t have any specific answer (and may only speculate and/or presume). There are a few sections where the author provides some context, such as the etymology of some of the words substituted for the name God; however, the majority was simply questions without much exposition. An example from Chapter 2: “If the two trees were dangerous, why did God place then in the garden?” This continues for 22 chapters over nearly 100 pages (so the chapters are obviously very short). For the most part, I found the questions to be good and very thought provoking … and therein lies the primary appeal to this book … many religious communities force conformity to the point that questions are not tolerated where here not only as questions welcome, but it is also okay to be unable to answer them (or by extension tolerate the diversity of speculations born out of our own imaginations). It was a fun book and highly recommended. I was given this free advance reader copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review. #WhatWeDontKnowAboutGod #LibraryThing

It was ok but not great. Little boring.

This was a fascinating book for me.  As a Christian, I have read about King David throughout my life.  This book was written from a Jewish perspective which included a lot more background regarding the culture and norms that were relevant to King David. I felt that the author had a thing against King David and didn't celebrate him like Christians.  None the less it seemed that the Jewish perspective is more "legal" than the Christian perspective that I am accustomed.  A great book for stretching one's understanding of ancient Israel. 

Nachmanides was a great Jewish scholar and thinker of the Middle Ages living in Catalonia. Israel Drazin has presented a thoughtful review of his life and work and does no think he should be boxed in. It is a counterpoint to some who might overly praise him. There is some interesting ideas about the the Aramaic translation of the Torah and the problem of accuracy in interpretation of the meaning of words in the Hebrew vs the Aramaic.½

Good book overall. Interesting subject overall and the author presents it in an interesting format.

My hope when I acquired this book was that I'd learn about Nachmanides' metaphysical thinking and gain some understanding of his spiritual views. Sadly, this book is not for me. Fortunately this book will greatly please those students of Jewish thought who are very interested in the comparison of the sayings of Nachmanides vs those of Maimonides, Onkelos, and the traditional Torah Commentary. The author compares the words and writings of Nachmanides with the various other writings on Biblical and spiritual commentary as an end in itself. There is little study of the implications of his thoughts and the directions of his theories; but much of how his words compare to what others said on the various topics. This is not bad...just not of interest to me. Considering how detailed and comprehensive these comparisons are I would strongly suggest that anyone who is fascinated by these interpretive differences will find this book also fascinating.

This book was really interesting and it was easy to tell the author was extremely knowledgeable. I do not know a lot about Jewish history/theology and because of this I had to do a lot of background research from the start and all through out the book or I would have been totally lost. This is not necessarily a bad thing and overall it added to the experience of reading the book and I learned a lot. I would recommend this to anyone wanting to learn more about Jewish history and beliefs or who is curious about Nachmanides.

I was sent this book as part of the Early Reviewer program. I am by no means an expert in Jewish theology, and this is a specialist text book. I do have a theological education, and could follow the majority of the text, though my lack of working Hebrew meant that I didn't get as much from it as I would have done otherwise. I found the first two thirds of the book, with it's explanations of the relationships and different approaches of different Jewish thinkers interesting and well written. The last section, with its exhaustive listing and explanation of Nachmanides uses of the Targum Onkelos in his commentaries on the Pentateuch, I found less compelling, but are, I suspect, a tour de force of analysis. In short, this book was not written for me, but I found it an intriguing object lesson in the perils of eisegesis for a Biblical scholar½

Nachmanides – An Unusual Thinker

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (also known as Nachmanides) was a prolific commentator of the Torah, believing that every word of the Torah is true in a literal and factual sense. As a mystic, Rabbi Nachman’s views were indeed unusual as the book title suggests.

Rabbi Israel Drazin writes about what Nachmanides believed and taught and compares those beliefs to Maimonides, a contemporary of Rabbi Nachman. Maimonides and Nachmanides were complete opposites in their thought processes, beliefs, teachings, and writings. Examining these opposing views makes Rabbi Drazin’s book even more compelling and interesting.

This book took me way too long to read. Not because it was hard to read but because it was so dense with such interesting information. I would read and then think about what I read and occasionally I would re-read what I had read because it’s so fascinating.

I am truly glad I received this book in exchange for a fair review. I recommend it to any serious scholar of religious studies.

Who really was the biblical David? David appears to have no redeeming qualities. His story is told by Samuel, a recognized prophet of the Israelite's. The author, Israel Drazin, quotes passages from I Samuel chapters 16-31. Conflicting versions of events are identified and scholarly sources make an effort to explain the possible reasons.
The format is easy to read and the book is thought provoking.

It was a very interesting book. I chose this book to add to by knowledge of religion, it was very helpful.

I believe that a disclaimer is in order first. That is, I am not Jewish, nor am I an accomplished student of Judaism, Kabbalah, Talmud, or the Torah as a religious or spiritual pursuit. My knowledge of the aforementioned is pretty random and chaotic, as it has been dictated by my research and interest in other historic stories and studies, and thus limited to the understanding or knowledge required to accomplish those pursuits. That being said, I was very interested in the chance to read Nachmanides for several reasons.

Overall, I did find the work both interesting and illuminating. The layout was not quite what I was expecting, however, that is not a critique of the writer’s successful attempt to present his research in an organized and deliberate way. While, I do feel that not being better versed in rabbinic teachings or subjects did mean that certain explanations made me feel a little in over my head, I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone with any interest in the Books ascribed to Moses whether it is for religious or historic or cultural exploration.

The primary focus of the work is on 3 things; first, Nachmanides, a 13th century Jewish scholar, second, the information, both historic and instructive, of the Torah (or The Books of the Old Testament ascribed to Moses), and last, the Targum Onkelos, as an authoritative reference and resource used by the first in his commentary on the second.

The result was a very informative, comprehensive overview of Nachmanides as a scholar and an in-depth analysis of his commentary on selected verses of the Torah that were considered questionable or unreasonable by the author. While, the author’s focus was on reviewing Nachmanides’ explanations, I found that I gained a lot of knowledge about the inheritance of Moses’ teachings and the preservation methods of those teachings and the stories of the Jewish peoples, thus, making this work of value to anyone that is seeking more information or understanding about Biblical topics.

An interesting approach to Nachmanides and his biblical commentary. I enjoyed reading it.½

This was quite an interesting book and some of the teachings by Nachmanides are quite difficult to accept. It did challenge me a bit as someone who studied a bit of Judaism and how different rabbis disagree on certain passages.

The title is intriguing, and I thought the book would discuss Nachmanides' chiddushei Torah, and maybe how he wraps his mystical ideas into his commentaries. Instead, Rabbi Drazin spends most of the book discussing Onkelos' importance setting the meaning of the text, then launches into page after page of places where Ramban's views are not consistent with Onkelos' reading. I'm not interested in an exhaustive list; give the reader a couple of examples and apply some analysis to the differences.½

As a believer by conviction and a Christian by circumstance of birth, I am convinced that to come to a ‘correct’ relationship with God requires reading and studying an array of opinions, commentaries, interpretations and criticisms. A rainbow reflects and refracts the light of the sun and words written by devout persons more learned than I reflect the will of God. I read this book with that mind-set but was initially disappointed. Its theology is indirect—very indirect. In my opinion, there is too great of an emphasis on the water vapor and hues of the rainbow than on the light source.
The book comprises instances where Machmanides’s interpretations of verses in the Torah differ from those of others. The first part is topically oriented and the second focuses on ‘Targum Onkelos’, an Aramaic translation from the Hebrew of the Pentateuch. As an unsophisticated reader, the distinctions are mainly without theological differences. Drazin is careful to avoid calling the distinctions errors; preferring to use expressions such as ‘doubtful’ or ‘problematic’ instead. He also points to instances where Machmanides reads more into the verses than what is there.
The full appreciation of the nuanced distinctions requires a more than passing knowledge of the full corpus of Judaic writings and sensitivity of practiced Judaism. Reading the book had me referring to reference works more than once. By inference, Judaism as practiced stresses the need for perfection in understanding the words reflecting God’s involvement in the works of man and obedience to the Law. This book reflects a need to approach perfection.
Besides a study of Machmanides and his works, the book draws attention to three approaches to interpreting biblical writings. There is the ‘literal’ or ‘plain meaning’ of words and phrases, the allegorical interpretation, and the mystical interpretation. The difficulty with sticking to the literal interpretation is that language evolves—the meanings of words change over time. The plain meaning of a word today may not be the plain meaning it had five hundred or a thousand years earlier. Early translations compound the difficulty because the translator is locked into his own time and culture.
Allegorical interpretations result from deeper study and sometimes suffer from the unintended bias of the interpreter—meaning is read into the verse that meets the interpreter’s expectation.
Drazin contends—often obliquely—that Machmanides is prone to mystical interpretation. Mysticism is as mysterious as the name implies. The word can denote a mental provocation or stimulus for thinking to be other than rational, the process by which it is reduced to language to include the insertion of encoded thought, and the spoken or written product that ensues. In a religious context, the initial stimulation is divine inspiration. Discarding the question of rationality, this is a description of religion. A second order of mysticism is the decoding of the hidden information by another mystic, in this case Machmanides.
Regarding those three approaches to interpretation, the author muddies the water already clouded. The book is highly technical and bound to be appreciated more by academic and technical readers than general readers.

Israel Drazin, the author of this thin volume, has a unique writing style that often disregards standard English sentence structure and usage, which detracts from the flow of the overall commentaries he makes about King David. His insights are, for the most part, interesting, although many of them seem to stretch the issue beyond bounds or come across as exceedingly didactic. Because the structure of the book is so didactic, it loses much of its appeal to interest and for understanding the human condition. King David is a colossal figure in the Old Testament whose life, as delineated in the bilble, offers unending opportunities for deep analysis and observation with immense human appeal.

Nachmanides: An Unusual Thinker by Israel Drazin
Ellin Pollachek Reviewer

Rabbi Israel Drazin’s Nachmanides: An Unusual Thinker is essentially divided into three sections. The first section which makes up the first four chapters is about Nachmanides’ beliefs and how they will come to frame his biblical exegesis. The second section sheds light on the differences between the Targum Onkelos (Onkelos’ official Aramaic translation of the five books of Moses) and the Hebrew Torah. The third part of the book is devoted to how, why and where Rabbi Drazin thinks Nachmanides misunderstands Onkelos.

The reasons for taking on the task of writing a work of non-fiction can range from income revenue to adding to other successes in an author’s repertoire. Regardless of the reasons, an author must always consider her audience. Is the book written for children, fellow peers or those just beginning to delve into the subject? And then there’s point-of-view. As there is no such thing as an objectivity, once the author gets past the facts of her subject, everything else can be regarded as subjective.

I bring up these points to underscore why I found Nachmanides: An Unusual Thinker a book that I consider intellectually dishonest.
First of all there’s the title. Referring to Nachmanides as an “unusual” thinker is like calling Picasso an “unusual” painter or Madam Curie a “top-notch” scientist. Nachmanides, whether one agrees with his exegesis or not, was much more than an unusual thinker. He was a physician, a scholar, a mystic and the first Torah scholar who brought his knowledge of the Kabbala to his commentary on the Torah.

Nachmanides had been challenged to a debate by Pablo Christiani, a Jew who had converted to Christianity and believed that the Torah confirmed that Jesus was the Messiah which therefore meant that all Jews must convert to Christianity. The debate, known as The Dispute at Barcelona, which took place in 1263 in the presence of King James 1 of Argon and lasted 4 days.

Essentiallly Nachmanides won.

At a time when a King had the power to demand, upon threat of death, that Jews had to convert, Ramban convinced the King that the Torah did not confirm Jesus’ messiahship.

Nachmanides was not an unusual thinker; he was a genius.

Born Moses ben Nahman in Spain in 1194, Nachmanides’ (known as Ramban, an acronym for Rabbi Moses ben Nahman) interpretive Torah skills and scholarship were evident by the time he was 16. The fact that Nachmanides is spoken of with the same reverence and respect afforded to Maimonides and Rashi is enough to place him as one of the ‘greats’ in Jewish commentary.

Drazin introduces Nachmanides to the reader by way of introduction to the exegete’s beliefs about women, god, hell, interpretations of the Torah and how, as a mystic, his views differed from the Torah’s previous commentators.

For instance, Ramban believed women were evil and he based this on Chava’s conversation and possible contact with Satan. Somehow, Nachmanides believed, she was infused with some of his evil and therefore the scholar professed that the only interaction men should have with women is to produce children. Maimonides, Rabbi Akiva and other great scholars disagreed.

Drazin points out, in great length, the different interpretations between Ramban and fellow scholars but it is when the author focuses in on Nachmanides’ misinterpretations of Targum Onkelos and his “problematic” interpretations of different Biblical passages that I begin to question his intentions and I never can come up with an adequate answer.

Why would a man who is clearly a halakic (legal) scholar on his own write a book that dwells on what he considers to be errors of a renowned Torah exegete? There’s no malice in Drazin’s writing. It’s not like he has bet to settle but there is no doubt that his intention is to prove Nachmanides wrong. Questioning his motivation has me wonder why Drazin chose to portray an unbalanced view of Nachmanides’ writings.

It seems dishonest and unfair.

I am reviewing this for Librarything. This book was amazing. I don't remember a book that I have ever read that I did so much research on my own. Not to make sure Mr. Drazin was right or wrong, but to broaden my knowledge of King David. I am so drawn to a book. I have read II Samuel in so many Bible translations and this book gave me another look at it and King David. Mr. Drazin gave you questions and then he made you really think. I have to say this is one book that I will keep in my library and let others borrow to read. It is such an interesting translation.½

It was a bit dry but still managed to be interesting. My biggest issue with the book is that it seemed to repeat some point repeatedly, as if they hadn't been raised before. I think it happened because they used to be standalone essays, and the combining into one volume was a little rough.

Otherwise, an interesting read.

There's some interesting information in this book. It will certainly surprise those who have sat in Christian churches and uncritically listened to the romanticised stories that are told during Sunday Schools, Sabbath Schools, or the typical sermon from priests and pastors who never share what they learned during their university or college education. Drazin does an excellent job of demonstrating his conclusions in what is a surprisingly concise and to-the-point book that is easy to read. For anyone interested in what the Old Testament really says about this biblical character it's an enlightening read.

Brilliantly researched and scholarly work which attempts to account for some of the difficulties and disasters of David's reign. Totally unafraid of the weight of previous scholarship Drazin demolishes many established arguments in a cogent fashion. His style is highly readable and yet he does not scorn the use of footnotes and appendices where appropriate. I learnt a lot from this book and expect to return to it often when preparing sermons.½