Malka Simkovich responds to Yonatan Adler's work on the origins of Judaism, expressing concerns over Adler's focus on social practices over intellectual ideas in defining Jewish identity.

Yonatan Adler's book, "The Origins of Judaism: An Archaeological-Historical Reappraisal," challenges the traditional Jewish origin story by arguing that Jews did not begin to treat the Torah as an authoritative text until the Hasmonean era around 140 BCE.