I have previously suggested that Abravanel’s declaration that “death with honor is better than a life of shame and ignominy” is grounded in the Iberian culture in which he flourished. Today, however, I saw the attribution of quite a similar sentiment to the product of a very different era and culture – Rav Moshe Mordechai […]
Monthly Archives: October 2009
Wine, Women and Song: Some Remarks On Poetry and Grammar – Part III
Available at the Seforim blog, courtesy of Dan Rabinowitz. [Part I, Part II]
Sin and Its Consequences
We have seen the midrashic criticism of Jacob’s insensitivity in his harsh response to Rachel’s desperate demand for him to provide her with children, and its declaration of the consequences for his descendants. This is quite reminiscent of Ramban’s celebrated, provocative indictment of Sarah’s oppression of Hagar, and Abraham’s tacit complicity therein, and his assertion […]