Jewish Quest
Each week, join us on an adventure as we deconstruct that week’s parasha, exploring new insights and meaning in the Torah. Hosted by Simon Eder and sponsored by the Louis Jacobs Foundation, a part of Masorti Judaism, Jewish Quest aims to honour the statement of R' Jacobs z"l who said: 'The quest for Torah is itself Torah.' Welcome to that Quest.
Find out more about our work at louisjacobs.org and masorti.org.uk
Jewish Quest
Shlach with Idan Dershowitz
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Professor Idan Dershowitz (Monash University) joins Simon to discuss Joshua Chapter 2, this week's Haftarah and the mysterious nature of the symbol 'ot' referenced in both the Parashah and Haftarah.
Idan Dorshav Dershowitz joined the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation (ACJC) at Monash University in 2024. Previously, he was a Junior Fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows and served as Director of the School of Jewish Theology and Chair of Hebrew Bible at the University of Potsdam. His current research focuses on the evolution of biblical religion, the techniques employed by biblical scribes and editors, and the development of AI tools to trace the origins of ancient texts.
Dershowitz is the author of The Dismembered Bible: Cutting and Pasting Scripture in Antiquity, which examines the editorial processes behind the Hebrew Bible, using comparative and internal evidence—including editorial errors that found their way into the biblical text. In The Valediction of Moses: A Proto-Biblical Book, he argues that manuscripts dismissed as forgeries in the 1800s are actually among the most significant biblical discoveries in history, revealing a very early edition of the Book of Deuteronomy.