by Hakham Isaac Sassoon
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are that of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the Union for Traditional Judaism, unless otherwise indicated.
In his essay on parshat Ki Tetze in TheTorah.com, Hakham Isaac Sassoon looks into the meaning of Kadesh in the context of human relationships.
This text seems to imply that there was a place for male prostitutes at or in the Temple. The medieval rabbinic commentator, Radak (R. David Kimchi, 1160-1235), however, in his gloss on this verse, supports the translation of Targum Yonatan that this cannot be about prostitution:
“Targum Yonatan renders batei ha-kedeshim ‘places of idolatry’ and the context shows him to be right. … However, the word kadesh at 1 Kings 14:24 and kedeshim at 15:12 he translates according to its simple meaning, prostitutes. But here [at 2 Kings 23] if kedeshim had anything to do with lewdness, what business would they have being in the Temple?”
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One of the world’s leading Torah scholars, Hakham Isaac Sassoon synthesizes rigorous traditional study with scrupulous academic and historical scholarship.
A prolific writer for TheTorah.com, Hakham Sassoon is the author of several critically-acclaimed books including:
His initial education was under the tutelage of his father, the renowned scholar Rabbi Solomon David Sassoon, Hakham Yosef Doury, and others. He continued his studies at the prestigious Gateshead Yeshiva and various yeshivoth in Israel. He holds a Ph.D. in Literature from the University of Lisbon.
Continuing his family's tradition of academic achievement, Hakham Sassoon has published on topics ranging from Scriptural commentary and history, to issues of current concern to the Jewish community. Hakham Sassoon teaches at the Institute of Traditional Judaism-The Metivta and lectures widely.
For more thoughts from Hakham Sassoon, see the Destination Torah Facebook page, Twitter handle, and Youtube channel.
To learn more about Hakham Sassoon, go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_S.D._Sassoon