Judaism and Politics

Fix the Israeli Rabbinate, says Elli Fischer, but first identify the problem.

The biblical figure of Esther is often interpreted by traditional and modern commentators as a heroine of active leadership. Naama Sadan offers a novel perspective, according to which Esther confronts national crisis in female-coded ways, triumphing and saving her people through internally-focused activism.

Yitzchak Blau and Michael Broyde respond to recent articles that have driven conversation.

In this timely essay, Noam Weissman of OpenDor Media argues for a form of Israel education that tackles challenging topics in Israel’s history.

Yisroel Ben-Porat offers historical, hashkafic, and personal reflections on what’s often called the “Judeo-Christian” tradition and whether a Torah u-Madda outlook can embrace the study of Christianity.

In this essay, Weinberg reflects on the symbolic significance of tefillin and its message for our Jewish future.

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.

Nathan Diament of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center on the political advocacy of faith communities today.

The worldview and thought process of Haman bear an uncanny resemblance to those of contemporary antisemitic movements. Drawing on the work of French psychoanalyst Jacque Lacan, Zach Truboff explores the fantasy at the heart of Haman's rage, takes note of its contemporary echoes, and proposes that Jews must beware of stumbling into our own version of this fantasy. This essay was written before the war with Iran. That Khamenei, who embodied the antisemitic fantasy as fully as any figure in our lifetime, was eliminated on the eve of Purim requires no commentary beyond what the Megillah itself provides.

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.