American Orthodoxy

Yosef Blau, Senior Mashgiah Ruhani at Yeshiva University, wonders about the direction of Religious Zionism after October 7 and considers the role of Modern Orthodoxy outside of Israel.

Joshua Leifer’s new book illustrates the collapse of several paradigms that long sustained American Jewish life. In his review, Steven Gotlib notes that Leifer’s search for a viable, non-separatist, traditional Judaism overlooks several existing models of Jewish life and practice.

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

In this response to last week’s article by Ezra Schwartz, Nathaniel Helfgot wonders whether the new pandemic-fueled trend toward centralized halakhic decision-making overburdens the most learned rabbis and takes too much autonomy from the others.

Lawrence Kobrin recalls Rabbi Norman Lamm's 1960s emergence as a pivotal Orthodox rabbi in Manhattan and Jewish intellectual.

Zev Eleff tells the story of "Orthodox women's issues" in the 1980s and its impact on today's religious scene.

Jeffrey Fox contributes to the Lehrhaus Symposium on the recent OU statement regarding female clergy.

Shalom Carmy argues why Torah u-Madda is more relevant now than it ever was.

The debate about Torah u-Madda and pop culture continues. Noah Marlowe argues that Chaim Potok's literature offers a useful conceptual framework for, and embodiment of, a profound confrontation between Judaism and elite elements of general culture.

Yoni Zolty and Jordan Soffer respond to Jeff Fox's recent article on football and halakhic values.