Jeffrey A. Spitzer

The metaphor of Israel as the wife of God receives several potent and shocking midrashic reinterpretations as the rabbis reflect on Israel's suffering and persecution.

Opposition to Tradition of Commentary on Jewish Texts. Connections in Jewish Texts. About Jewish Texts. Jewish Texts. People of the Book.

Jewish tradition, informed by the precedent of the Talmud, prefers to promote discussion rather than correctness.

How did the different genres of Jewish texts develop chronologically?

The three paragraphs of the Shema can be interpreted allegorically by connecting each of the three paragraphs to a different stage of a growing, loving relationship.

The Biblical law protecting fruit trees during war provides an opportunity for Jewish exegetes to reflect on ecology and the wanton destruction of life.

Literary, historical, and theological perspectives on whether the Torah is divine, human, or something in between