Commentary

In unpacking the meaning of a tricky verse from Eikhah that we say as part of the Shofar service on Rosh Hashanah, Mitchell First introduces us to the literary principle called hendiadys, which can help us understand various phrases throughout Tanakh.

Two readers respond to Michael Broyde's recent article on time-bound commandments. Leah Sarna critiques Broyde's omission of female scholarship, and Avi Siegal argues that Broyde's unifying theory skews the data.

Tzvi Sinensky reviews the new volume about R. Aharon Lichtenstein from Divrei Shir’s Hebrew-language “Gedolei ha-Umah le-Yaldei Yisrael,” explaining why it is a must-read for adults and children alike.

Michael Broyde offers a new theory for why halakhah obligates women in some time-bound positive mitzvot and exempts them from others.

Tzvi Sinensky examines Rabbi Lamm’s lifelong commitment to civility.

In advance of Tisha Be-Av, Tzvi Novick annotates and interprets the kinnah of a’adeh ad hug shamayim by the master poet R. Eleazar ha-Kalir, unlocking its complex acrostic to determine who its speaker is meant to be.

David Silverstein explores the recent attempts to ban Rav Eliezer Melamed and his already-classic Peninei Halakha.

Elana Stein Hain Editor’s Note: We are running a number of pieces for the sheloshim of Professor David Weiss Halivni z"l. For Elli Fischer’s introduction...

Elli Fischer Just over a month ago, the Jewish world lost Rabbi Professor David Weiss Halivni, one of its greatest and most creative Talmudic minds...

Two letters to the editor provide alternative perspectives on the question of what Jewish law wants American abortion law to be.