The Challenges of the Gaza War and Growing Antisemitism

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.

Apres Moi: Religious Jews after Trump

What is President Trump’s legacy for Orthodox Jews? Shalom Carmy, taking stock of the past four years, considers religious liberty, Israel policy, and the bitter polarization that dominates American politics

The Modern Orthodox Vote and the Episcopalian Turn

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

On the Other Hand: An Opposing View on Politics from the Pulpit

Eliezer Finkelman offers his thoughts on politicizing from the pulpit.

Homeland Insecurity

Jeffrey Green assesses Daniel Boyarin's "Traveling Homeland," Jewish texts and Diaspora in modern terms.

When the Beggar Knocks

Avi Killip explores three Talmudic stories dealing with the feelings of discomfort that can be involved in helping the poor, even when we know it’s the right thing to do.

(IN)VISIBILITY: Is it good for Jews to be invisible?

As Juneteenth sparks another round of discussion of blacks and the American experience, Chaim Trachtman compares and contrasts the Jewish and Black experiences in America through the lens of Jason Mott’s Hell of a Book.

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein on What Makes America Great

Rav Moshe Feinstein does not praise the United States for not having fascists and communists, but for having a system of government that is particularly resistant to what came to be known as totalitarianism.

Of Sages, Prophets, and Politics from the Pulpit

Jason Herman examines whether or not rabbis should talk politics in shul.

The Yom Kippur War and Yeshivat Har Etzion: Letters from a Talmid

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, published here are excerpts from letters of an American student studying in Israel in 1973. These letters, written during and immediately after the war, shed light on Yeshivat Har Etzion in its formative years and the lasting impact of the Yom Kippur War.