I have referred to [Rabbi Shlomo ben Isaac] on occasion, but I doubt that you will find his name in any of my indices. In my view, he is important in the history of interpretation; and that is a subject I have not approached directly.

I prefer to have all of this apparatus - historical, literary, critical - and then, beyond initial innocence and naiveté, to try to achieve a new innocence, a new naiveté.

The history of interpretation [of the Bible] is fascinating; but that is something else.

My father was a Social Gospel, far-left liberal, and to some degree a mystic. But we did not have Bible readings; we had prayers.

The text says Deuteronomy was lost, but you say it was written then.

The Garden of Eden presents the same story: If you want to make yourself gods, you'll find you're akin to the animals.

I would not speak of Judaism as a Talmudic or Rabbinic religion. It's a Biblical religion.