Tell me what is that supposed to mean, if that is your "God" you have got some splaining to do Davey, for being a robot to believe in such nonsense as a "God" standing up and flying for instance, a simple corpse and good riddance but I guess he didn't mean for all the millions of people murdered in his name or the millions enslaved in his name or the millions tortured and degraded or the civilizations destroyed in his name or maybe he did exactly mean for that to happen in his name which makes you a co-conspirator.

There is no proof that Moses did not exist. We may not be sure about many details of his life, about his origins, or we may discount as unscientific accounts of miracles. You can also be skeptical of various embellishments that are clearly reminiscent of other myths. But as with most accounts in the Torah, there is some factual basis. The absence of evidence is not a proof - it only means we did not find it or it did not survive. There are many curious details, such as the Egyptian name "Moshe" itself as well as the Egyptian names of his relatives. Who went into Egypt & who came out of Egypt are interesting if you care to speculate but it is evident that some group of people called Hebrews left Egypt & conquered Canaan. They undoubtably had a leader & by all appearances, a lawgiver. It is poor scholarship to deny the historical existence of Moses when so many other Biblical accounts were later proven by archeology to be either factual or plausible.

For all us "believers" out here in the Torah, we know of the true nature of our leader Moshe. He was a complex man with many attributes and faults. But his greatest attribute was his humility. So appropriately, unlike Gentiles who worship or immortalize their prophets and spiritual leaders, our greatest leader Moshe was buried in an unmarked grave and is rarely discussed in modern times outside of Torah study. During his life as leader of the Israelites he endured enormous abuse and was hardly appreciated. Yet his impact on the Jewish people is everlasting. So do Moshe a favor and DO NOT include him in your silly encyclopedia. He would be totally embarrassed.

I kid you not , there was no mention in the previous edition of any ofthe Great Sephardi Rabbis. I have absolutley no doubt that this edition will exclude them as well. However it was full of profiles of non observant so called Rabbis. So what sort of encyclopedia is this? And by the way all Orthodox Jewish scholars believe in Moshe so what minority is this article talking about.

I rebuke all who read this trash and accept it as fact. Especially considering the source, a reform 'rabbi'. These reformers are trying to destroy Judaism, the beautiful and enduring religion, from within. I have delt with these apostates, and they are the most disgusting kind of Jews which walk this planet. I have rebuked them in the past and will continue to rebuke them with all my heart, all my soul, and all my resources. May the Torah observant Jews see the demise of the apostates speedily and in our days. Remember, when the Jews left egypt 4/5ths got left behind.

As I gentile, I'm not sure why Jewish people would want to believe that Moses did not exist or that he was different than in the bible. Are some unhappy with Moses or the laws given or something else?

It appears to me that your attempt to ascribe to the Conservative movement a conclusion about Moses by what you assert is in "Etz Chaim", the 2001 edition of Torah and Commentary is incorrect. In the Forward to the edition it is stated that supplementary essays were composed by a rabbi or scholar associated with the Conservative movement. The language you quoted from was in an essay written by Stephen Garfinkel called "Moses, Man of Israel, Man of God." The previous sentence to the one you quoted is: "We must always be aware that whatever we 'know' about Moses is extrapolated from religious literary sources." It continues with your quote: " So the question to ask in understanding the Torah on its own terms is not when, or even if, Moses lived, but what his life, conveys in Israel's saga." The next quote and information you used is a sentence later, starting a new paragraph: "Typical of THE [emphasis added) folkloristic, national hero, Moses successfully withstands trials to prove himself ...." Stephen Garfinkel did not say that Moses is A (as you stated in your article)folkloristic, national hero. It appears to me that by using "THE" Garfinkel is saying that Moses' actions were the same as such a folkloristic, national hero. It does not appear that he was calling "Moses a folkloristic, national hero."

what is Islam? tell me your basis for this faith? any foundation? does it make any sense? what good has it done? does it promote love and peace really? Islam Islam the false religion end.......

wonder what the EJ entry on "reformism" looks like. maybe it should be this. pseudo judaic movement, loosely based upon jewish ancestry and those who claim to be Reform Jews which separated as a cult from traditional Judaism. Reform, or otherwise known as "reformulated" denies divine authority of Torah, views biblical narratives as myth, and maintains that individuals have a right to choose whether to follow what they call "suggestions" (known as Halacha by adherents of Judaism) instead of a "strict" code of law based upon Torah and the work of "angry white men" who assumed the title of Rabbi without a popular vote or contract.

Ha. Very true. And what I want to know is..... Where is Linda Rivera?

If the Jewish covenant with G"d exists (as I believe it does) and G"d's commandments provide us with the guidance necessary to exist as human beings, what does it matter if the stories of how the Jewish people came to be are accurate or not? The Torah does not claim to be history or to be historical. It is a recounting of a our people's encounter with G"d. It wouldn't due to have sacred scriptures that read "some nameless leader climb up th emountain and received the commanndments from G"d." So somewhere along the way, nameless leader gets a name. Maybe Moshe was this person's name. Maybe not. It makes no difference-we are not worshippers of Moshe but of G"d. So the actual existence of a Moshe is irrelevant. On the other hand, no Jesus, no Xtianity. I am proud that the Judaism I know is not dependent on historical truths-only metaphysical truths.

Only now are we finding out that our religion is not 100% true. Moses did not right the Torah that we know, because the Hebrew that we see today is the Persian Aramaic modified into Hebrew 300 B.C. Moses never saw this Hebrew Torah, and he did not write it. And there is no evidence of any Torah in Egyptian or Akkadian - the languages that Moses would have spoken if he had existed. I blame the Israelites who were taken into captivity to Babylon in the 6th century BC for putting these myths together. Eventually, the lies will catch up with you.