Authors Posts by Zev Eleff

Zev Eleff

Zev Eleff
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Zev Eleff is Chief Academic Officer of Hebrew Theological College and Associate Professor of History at Touro College. His most recent book is Authentically Orthodox: A Tradition-Bound Faith in American Life (Wayne State, 2020).

Modern Orthodoxy is a Swing State

As this election season draws to a close at last, Zev Eleff crunches the numbers on the Modern Orthodox vote—a demographic whose politics are not so easy to pin down.

“A Cruel Loss to Judaism in America”: Solomon Hurwitz, Torah u-Madda Day School Pioneer

Whom did the Spanish Flu take from our community 100 years ago? Zev Eleff introduces us to the forgotten legacy of Solomon Hurwitz, the founding principal of Yeshiva University's boys' high school, and a pioneer of Torah U-madda.

The Balabatish Daf Yomi Revolution

How did daf yomi evolve from a yeshiva-centered program to one focused on the working Jew? Zev Eleff offers a historical overview of the daf yomi revolution.

Digital Discourse and the Democratization of Jewish Learning

Zev Eleff draws on lessons of nineteenth century print culture to help grapple with the Digital Age.

The Brachos Bee and Becoming American Orthodox Jews

The Brachos Bee, Zev Eleff argues, shows how Orthodox Jews Americanize and form their own particular religious subculture.
Norman Lamm

Rabbi Norman Lamm and His Crusade for the Jewish Home

Zev Eleff explores how the Jewish family anchored Rabbi Norman Lamm's sermons and thought during the destabilizing 1960s.

The “Between-the-Lines” Faith of Rabbi Hershel Schachter

Zev Eleff takes us through the theology of one of American Orthodoxy much-discussed but less-analyzed rabbinic leaders, at least from this point of view.

Mitzvah Merchants and their Made-in-America Toys

Zev Eleff examines some of the toys peddled around by mitzvah merchants and other fascinating features of Ultra-Orthodox culture. 

Not Your Parents’ “Nonobservance:” A Rejoinder

Zev Eleff offers a rejoinder to his critics regarding the Non-Observant Orthodox Jew.

The Vanishing Non-Observant Orthodox Jew

Zev Eleff on an endangered species, the so-called Non-Observant Orthodox Jew.