Commentary

In commemoration of Rav Amital's seventh Yahrtzeit, Shlomo Zuckier shares Rav Amital's teachings on Jewish continuity, in Derasha form.

Moshe Kurtz explores the different meanings of silence in Halakhah in light of recent political events

Sharona Margolin Halickman responds to Chaim Saiman on women's leadership.

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.

On the sheloshim of his beloved rabbi, Matt Lubin provides a poignant and heartfelt tribute to Rav Yehuda Kelemer z"tl, legendary leader of the Young Israel of West Hempstead.

Elinatan Kupferberg argues that the boundaries between Torah and Madda have blurred and evolved throughout Jewish intellectual history. This erudite analysis upends our assumptions about Torah u-Madda and breathtakingly reimagines its past, present, and future.

Gil Perl argues that Modern Orthodox currently lacks a “Hedgehog Concept,” namely something at their core that they passionately believe they do better than anyone else in the world. He argues that Or Goyim, as articulated by 19th century luminaries like Netziv and Hirsch, is the Hedgehog concept that can engage Modern Orthodox Youth in a postmodern world.

Drawing upon his expertise in Anglo-Jewish history, Benjamin Elton traces the intellectual journey and career of the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt"l. As a brilliant young scholar, Rabbi Sacks rose to prominence through the British Chief Rabbinate, but he transcended that role to become a global phenomenon.

Authors mis-citing citations on authors citing authors. What gives? Yiddish.

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.