"Some skeptical readers doubted that my Bible reading would last past Exodus. Oh, it's all thrills and giggles when you're dealing with the Ten Plagues and the Tower of Babel—but wait till you get to Leviticus! They mentioned "Leviticus" in the same hushed, terrified way that mariners mutter "Bermuda Triangle," or Hollywood executives whisper "Ishtar." Leviticus, I was warned, makes even learned rabbis weep with boredom, turns promising young Talmudic scholars into babbling US Weekly subscribers. What would it do to an amateur like me? ..."Follow the link above, and find out why it can be inferred from Leviticus that God appreciated baldness...
David Plotz who is, in his own words, "a proud Jew, but never a terribly observant one.", picked up a Torah during a particularly boring bat mitzvah, and started reading the story of Dinah and her brothers. This convinced him that he was woefully ignorant of the foundation of his own faith, and resolved to do something about it. This series is the result. Plotz's May 16th post describes in greater detail what it was he set out to do, and why.
His style is witty, and he seems to have much less of an axe to grind than many Christian biblical scholars. Ordinarily I would not take any spiritual direction from someone who does not proceed from belief, but David Plotz has taken an interesting approach. He deliberately avoids commentaries, preferring to read it with fresh eyes and going with the plain meaning of the words he is reading (in many cases, for the first time). Like many who read the Bible, he is perplexed by many passages, amused by others, and suprised by what he has found.
I look forward to seeing his future postings.
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