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Ben Kohelet

The topics we didn't learn in Yeshiva

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About Ben Kohelet
Are Tefillin Actually a Biblical Commandment?
Posted inHomepage Jewish History Myth Busting

Are Tefillin Actually a Biblical Commandment?

Most of us grew up learning about tefillin as one of Judaism's most fundamental commandments. Yet their history contains some remarkable surprises that you probably weren't taught in yeshiva. Did…
Posted by Unknown's avatar Ben Kohelet October 11, 2026
Song of Songs: A Romantic Poem Not Written by Solomon?
Posted inBiblical Worldview Homepage Jewish History

Song of Songs: A Romantic Poem Not Written by Solomon?

Two fundamental questions surround the Song of Songs. Did Solomon actually write it, as Jewish tradition claims? And was the poem intended from the beginning as a metaphor for the…
Posted by Unknown's avatar Ben Kohelet September 7, 2026
A Miniature Exodus? The Levite Hypothesis
Posted inHomepage Jewish History Myth Busting

A Miniature Exodus? The Levite Hypothesis

One of the most fascinating attempts to reconcile the biblical Exodus with archaeology is the Levite Hypothesis, proposed by Richard Elliott Friedman. Rather than viewing the Exodus as the migration…
Posted by Unknown's avatar Ben Kohelet June 16, 2026
Always in the Land: Tanakh’s Hidden Memory of Indigenous Israelite Origins (Part II)
Posted inHomepage Jewish History

Always in the Land: Tanakh’s Hidden Memory of Indigenous Israelite Origins (Part II)

In Part I, we explored a number of biblical traditions that seem to imply the Israelites had deep indigenous roots in Canaan, rather than the traditional exodus framework. In this…
Posted by Unknown's avatar Ben Kohelet June 9, 2026
On the (in)Sanity of Prophets
Posted inBiblical Worldview Homepage Jewish History

On the (in)Sanity of Prophets

The biblical prophets can seem deeply strange. One prophet walks around naked for years. Another lies on his side for over a year and bakes bread over dung. Another marries…
Posted by Unknown's avatar Ben Kohelet June 7, 2026
Kohelet: The Skeptical Voice in Scripture
Posted inBiblical Worldview Homepage Myth Busting

Kohelet: The Skeptical Voice in Scripture

The profound wisdom of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) is widely underappreciated and frequently misrepresented. Kohelet is one of the Bible’s skeptics, relentlessly questioning the assumptions that govern human life: social hierarchy, divine…
Posted by Unknown's avatar Ben Kohelet May 12, 2026
Always in the Land: Tanakh’s Hidden Memory of Indigenous Israelite Origins
Posted inBiblical Worldview Homepage Jewish History

Always in the Land: Tanakh’s Hidden Memory of Indigenous Israelite Origins

Table of contents: The traditional narrative The alternative narrative The children of Ephraim Menasseh’s Aramean concubine The Judah and Tamar narrative Hezron dies in Israel Caleb son of Hezron City…
Posted by Unknown's avatar Ben Kohelet May 10, 2026
Is Dan Originally a Philistine Tribe?
Posted inHomepage Jewish History

Is Dan Originally a Philistine Tribe?

Some scholars propose that the tribe of Dan may have had foreign origins, possibly even emerging from among Israel’s later enemies—the Philistines. According to this theory, Dan was not originally…
Posted by Unknown's avatar Ben Kohelet January 12, 2026
Rethinking the Historical Shavuot Holiday
Posted inHomepage Jewish History Jewish Holidays

Rethinking the Historical Shavuot Holiday

The traditional narrative The liturgy of the day sums up the modern view of the holiday by calling it “this day of Shavuot, the time of the giving of the…
Posted by Unknown's avatar Ben Kohelet June 1, 2025
Recent Posts
  • Are Tefillin Actually a Biblical Commandment?
  • Song of Songs: A Romantic Poem Not Written by Solomon?
  • A Miniature Exodus? The Levite Hypothesis
  • Always in the Land: Tanakh’s Hidden Memory of Indigenous Israelite Origins (Part II)
  • On the (in)Sanity of Prophets
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