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Tag: Reuven Kimelman

The Star Spangled Banner and The Song at the Sea of Exodus 15

The Star Spangled Banner and The Song at the Sea of Exodus 15

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The Star Spangled Banner and The Song at the Sea of Exodus 15 Reuven Kimelman The most rousing expression of American Civil Religion is the well-known The Star-Spangled Banner[1] sung ritually at patriotic events especially on July 4. What is less known is how much the American anthem was inspired by ancient Israel’s hymn, the Song at the Sea.[2] Both the Song at the Sea in Exodus 15 and the Anthem were triggered by a wondrous upset. As America surprisingly…

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“Why are the Books of Ruth and Esther so much alike?”

“Why are the Books of Ruth and Esther so much alike?”

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Reuven Kimelman/Brandeis University וְנַהֲפוֹךְ הוּא “Why are the Books of Ruth and Esther so much alike?” No title is more intriguing than “Why are the Books of Ruth and Esther so much alike?” for a study of two biblical books ostensibly having nothing in common besides the featuring of a heroine. Otherwise, there are hardly two narrative biblical books seemingly more unalike.[1] The Book of Ruth takes place in rural Judea, in Bethlehem, in the period of the Judges, before…

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The Books of Maccabees and the Al HaNisssim prayer for Hanukah

The Books of Maccabees and the Al HaNisssim prayer for Hanukah

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The Books of Maccabees and the Al HaNisssim prayer for Hanukah. Reuven Kimelman   The Al HaNissim prayer inserted in the Amidah for Hanukah is a purposeful combination of 1 Maccabees with Rabbinic literature and liturgy. This becomes obvious upon comparing it with the less-developed version of Massekhet Sofrim20.6:[1] בהודייה והודאת פלאות ותשועת כהנים אשר עשית בימי מתתיהו בן יוחנן כהן גדול וחשמונאי ובניו וכן עשה עמנו ה’ אלהינו ואלהי אבותינו נסים ונפלאות ונודה לשמך לנצח בא”י הטוב In the…

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The Seven Nations of Canaan

The Seven Nations of Canaan

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                                     THE SEVEN NATIONS OF CANAAN[1] By Reuven Kimelman This study deals with the war and the seven Canaanite nations.[2] It complements my previous post on Amalek of March 13, 2014, “The Ethics of the Case of Amalek: An Alternative Reading of the Biblical Data and the Jewish Tradition. “The popular conception in both cases is that the Bible demands their extermination thereby providing a precedent for…

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The Ethics of the Case of Amalek: An Alternative Reading of the Biblical Data and the Jewish Tradition

The Ethics of the Case of Amalek: An Alternative Reading of the Biblical Data and the Jewish Tradition

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 The Ethics of the Case of Amalek: An Alternative Reading of the Biblical Data and the Jewish Tradition by Reuven Kimelman This study of Amalek deals with seven questions. 1. Is the battle against Amalek primarily ethnic or ethical? 2. What is the difference in reading the biblical data starting with Exodus and Deuteronomy or starting with I Samuel 15? 3. What is the evidence that the Bible already seeks ethical justification for punishing Amalek? 4. How does post-biblical literature…

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