American Orthodoxy

Rachel Levmore asks whether Internet feuds are the proper way to adjudicate halakhic matters.

Louis Jacobs, the controversial British rabbi and theologian, died 15 years ago. Steven Gotlib reviews Harry Freedman’s new book on Jacobs’ life, and considers how what happened to Jacobs should inform the way we draw the boundaries of Orthodoxy today.

In December 1932, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik had just arrived in Boston and outlined his vision for Orthodox Jewish education in the United States.

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

Gil Perl argues that Modern Orthodox currently lacks a “Hedgehog Concept,” namely something at their core that they passionately believe they do better than anyone else in the world. He argues that Or Goyim, as articulated by 19th century luminaries like Netziv and Hirsch, is the Hedgehog concept that can engage Modern Orthodox Youth in a postmodern world.

In this next installment in our Israel symposium, Erica Brown argues that for Jewish students after October 7, choosing secular college is just not the choice it used to be.

Leslie Ginsparg Klein examines a new case of Orthodox censorship, contextualizing it within recent trends and religious culture.

In the next installment of our Torah u-Madda symposium, Dr. Erica Brown reflects on the concepts and values expressed by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt"l in his discussions on the integration of Torah and secular life.

Zev Eleff explains what Zionism has to do with Sukkot, at least in America.

Yaakov Bieler details several reasons why Torah u-Madda remains important to our role as Torah Jews and some practical ways we can implement this approach.