Why an Arab Party Is the Real Winner of the Israeli Election
Mansour Abbas has revolutionized his community’s politics.
November 29, 2022
The Medieval Rabbi Who Championed Literalism
How an illustrious family and interactions with Christians shaped the work of Samuel ben Meir.
The grandson of the famed French Bible and Talmud commentator Solomon ben Isaac (better known as Rashi), Samuel ben Meir (ca. 1080–1174) was himself the author of commentaries on these texts, not all of which have survived. In his introduction to his glosses to the Pentateuch, Rashbam (as Samuel is called in rabbinic literature) portrayed himself as carrying on his grandfather’s legacy by analyzing the plain sense of the text, without reference to traditional rabbinic exegesis, or midrash. Tamar Marvin takes stock of his life and work:
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Login or SubscribeNovember 29, 2022
In Music, Politics, Religion, and Diplomacy, Israel Is Becoming Part of the Middle East
Mizraḥi nation, revisited.
The Dangers of Dining with Anti-Semites
“You don’t need to be looking for anti-Semites under every bed. Then again, many are jumping up and down on the bed.”
The Medieval Rabbi Who Championed Literalism
How an illustrious family and interactions with Christians shaped the work of Samuel ben Meir.
How Therapy and “Self-Care” Usurped Religion
Narratives of personal liberation threaten to weaken our already frayed social bonds.