Perhaps no other biblical book is as linguistically difficult, weighted with as much theological meaning, and able to engender as much interpretive debate as Job. In dialogue with J.J. Kimche, Jon D. Levenson provides his insights into the book, from the rationale of Satan’s “bet” with God, to the possible significance of the characters’ unusual names, to the perils of reading the text through a modern lens, to the meaning of God’s mysterious “answer” to Job’s question. (Audio, 69 minutes.)

Listen to “2. Theodicy and Job | Dr. Jon D. Levenson” on Spreaker.

Israel’s goals of freeing the hostages and defeating Hamas (the latter necessary to prevent further hostage taking) are to some extent contradictory, since Yahya Sinwar, the ruler of the Gaza Strip, will only turn over hostages in exchange for concessions. But Jacob Nagel remains convinced that Jerusalem should continue to pursue both goals:

Only consistent military pressure on Hamas can lead to the hostages’ release, either through negotiation or military operation. There’s little chance of reaching a deal with Hamas using current approaches, including the latest Egyptian proposal. Israeli concessions would only encourage further pressure from Hamas.

There is no incentive for Hamas to agree to a deal, especially since it believes it can achieve its full objectives without one. Unfortunately, many contribute to this belief, mainly from outside of Israel, but also from within.

Recent months saw Israel mistakenly refraining from entering Rafah for several reasons. Initially, the main [reason was to try] to negotiate a deal with Hamas. However, as it became clear that Hamas was uninterested, and its only goal was to return to its situation before October 7—where Hamas and its leadership control Gaza, Israeli forces are out, and there are no changes in the borders—the deal didn’t mature.