Authors Posts by Dovid Campbell
Dovid Campbell
Dovid Campbell is the creator of NatureofTorah.com, a project exploring the Torah's role in revealing the moral beauty of the natural world. He holds a degree in microbiology from the University of Arizona and multiple certificates in the field of complex systems. His writings on Jewish philosophy have appeared in Hakirah, Tradition, and Aish.com. He can be reached at dovidcampbell@gmail.com.
Legal Fictions II: A Narrative Reflection on Shekalim 6:2
As part of his Legal Fictions creative project, Dovid Campbell reimagines the content of Mishna Shekalim 6:2 in an evocative narrative of disability and Temple service.
Legal Fictions: A Narrative Reflection on Yevamot 16:6
As part of his Legal Fictions creative project, Dovid Campbell reimagines the content of Mishna Yevamot 16:6 in an evocative narrative.
What is the Mishnah?: Discovering Judaism’s Philosophy of Harmony
Was the Mishnah intended to serve as a legal text? This traditional assumption, which forms a central premise of the halakhic process, has been challenged by more recent scholarship. Dovid Campbell engages with this scholarship and performs his own close reading of some of the Mishnah's more enigmatic digressions to propose his conception of the Mishnah as a corpus of "found philosophy."
Intention and Inquiry: A Halakhic Case for Ta’amei Ha-Mitzvot
The study of ta’amei ha-mitzvot—the rationales underlying commandments—is a popular source of spiritual meaning, but does it also have relevance to halakhic practice? Dovid Campbell explores an intergenerational rabbinic debate regarding the relationship of ta’amei ha-mitzvot and the requirement to perform mitzvot with a proper intention.
A World Worth Knowing: Jewish Education’s Crisis of Curiosity
Dovid Campbell explores sources indicating that curiosity is a Jewish value.
Philo of Alexandria and the Soul of the Torah
Philo of Alexandria may rightly be called the first systematic Jewish philosopher, yet for many centuries his work was totally unknown to Jewish audiences. Dovid Cambpell argues for his continued relevance to modern Judaism.
Aggadic Poetry
In this pair of poems, Dovid Campbell imagines the unspoken words that arise from scenes in Aggada
Endless Exploration: Judaism’s Only “Principle of Faith”
Hasdai Crescas criticized Maimonides for counting belief as a Mitzvah, arguing that we have no control over what we believe. Dovid Campbell explores a surprisingly common defense of Maimonides that places his views closer to those of Crescas than we might have initially imagined.
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