Can One Delegate Holocaust Metaphors?

A Talmudic poem about Holocaust appropriation.

Jewish Anarchism: The Forgotten Legacy of Orthodoxy’s Radical Politics

In an enlightening new essay, Ilan Fuchs reviews Hayyim Rothman's recent book, No Masters but God: Portraits of Anarcho-Judaism, and uncovers what some of the most radical 19th century Orthodox political thinkers had to say about religion, statehood, and Jewish utopia.
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Christians, the Talmud, and American Politics

Ari Lamm explores a recent instance of talmudic censorship, as well as its implications for thinking about Jewish-Christian relations and American society at large.

There Are No Lights in War: We Need a Different Religious Language

A growing list of dati le’umi leaders and thinkers frame war as a desirable state and even an opportunity for spiritual elevation. Religious Israeli activist Ariel Shwartz traces this trend with alarm and argues that it contradicts deep-rooted Torah values. Translated by Mordechai Blau.

The Hasmoneans as a Paradigm for Modern Jewish Sovereignty

R. Shimshon Nadel explores the connection between the Hasmonean dynasty and the modern-day State of Israel.

Pandemic, Partnership, and Progress: A Vision for a post-Covid Modern Orthodoxy

Alan Jotkowitz explores how frequently overlooked passages in the writings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, and Rabbi Jonathan Sacks can help pave a path forward for us on theological issues in a post-Covid world.

In God’s Country: The “Zionism” of Rashi’s First Comment

Elli Fischer reads one of Rashi's most famous comments against the grain.

“Justice has not Been Done”: Officer Immunity and Accountability in Jewish Law (Part 2)

David Polsky meticulously explores officer immunity in Halakha and compares it with the American legal standard of qualified immunity.

Jung Earth Creationism: Two New York Rabbis Respond to the Scopes Trial

No two Orthodox rabbis think exactly the same way, particularly on the matter of Darwinism in the wake of the Scopes Trial. 

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

Eliezer Finkelman offers his thoughts on politicizing from the pulpit.