American Orthodoxy

Stu Halpern weighs in on the eternal wisdom Torah u-Madda offers the world during the fraught times in which we live.

Why do Orthodox Jews vote the way they do? Zev Eleff builds a case, using some unconventional data. 

In honor of Flag Day, Michael Bernstein argues that national flags do not belong in our shul sanctuaries. Drawing on halakhic responsa, news reports, and photographic evidence, Bernstein locates the practice of displaying flags in shuls in its historical context and proposes that flags do not ever belong in prayer spaces.

Tzvi Sinensky reimagines the utilitarian case for Torah u-Madda. Far from seeing the study of Madda as a concession to the need to earn a livelihood, the new utilitarianism uses cutting-edge scholarship to solve some of the most pressing problems in our schools and communities.

A Lehrhaus Symposium dedicated to Chaim Saiman's recent article on gedolim.

Our recent article by Emmanuel Bloch on the book Reclaiming Dignity generated much discussion. Now, two readers respond.

Steven Bayme reviews Joseph Kaplan’s diverse collection of essays on the history and future directions of Modern Orthodoxy in America.

In a never-before-published memoir, Rabbi Joseph H. Lookstein recalls the politics that surrounded Yeshiva University upon the death of President Bernard Revel and the search for his successor. 

Responding to Moshe Kurtz, Olivia Friedman argues that forging deep connections between Torah and popular culture can be an uplifting and sanctified experience.

Zev Eleff and Ari Lamm cap off the Lehrhaus Symposium on the OU statement.