Yatziv Pitgam: Poetry as Talmud Commentary
How should we understand Yatziv Pitgam, the enigmatic poem recited in the Haftarah for the second day of Shavuot? Tzvi Novick’s close reading reveals it to be a paean to the Torah and those who study it.
Gleaning the Wisdom of Ruth
In advance of Shavuot, Stuart Halpern reviews Reading Ruth, a succinct but poignant new literary commentary on the Book of Ruth, by Leon Kass and his granddaughter Hannah Mandelbaum.
The Pandemic Theology Dilemma: Preserve Normalcy or Embrace Crisis?
Shlomo Zuckier explores competing theological trends underlying rabbinic guidance at the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Four Reasons to Leverage Pop Culture in the Judaic Studies Classroom
Can we learn Torah from Star Wars, superheroes, or the hit Netflix show ‘The Crown’? Olivia Friedman, a teacher at Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Chicago, says yes, arguing that bringing pop culture into the Judaic studies classroom in a meaningful way not only makes learning more fun, but models the type of integration that Modern Orthodoxy stands for.
Taking Responsibility For Halakhic Guidance: A Response to Ezra Schwartz
In this response to last week’s article by Ezra Schwartz, Nathaniel Helfgot wonders whether the new pandemic-fueled trend toward centralized halakhic decision-making overburdens the most learned rabbis and takes too much autonomy from the others.
Animating the Dialogue – A Review of Yeshiva Days: Learning on the Lower East...
Sima Fried reviews Jonathan Boyarin’s Yeshiva Days, illuminating the challenges of examining a community as both an insider and an outsider.
Decentralization and Centralization: A COVID Tale of the Modern Orthodox Community
As the Covid-19 pandemic looks like it might be subsiding, Ezra Schwartz, a Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva University, incisively examines competing trends toward decentralization of synagogue life and centralization of halakhic decision-making that are reshaping the Modern Orthodox world.
Celebration and Exploration: Why Good Israel Education Needs Both
In this timely essay, Noam Weissman of OpenDor Media argues for a form of Israel education that tackles challenging topics in Israel’s history.
The Rational Theology of Rav Aharon Lichtenstein
David J. Landes z"l, former chairman of the Etzion Foundation at Yeshivat Har Etzion, developed a very close relationship with Rav Aharon Lichtenstein zt"l. In honor of Rav Lichtenstein's 6th yahrtzeit, Dr. Landes' family has generously offered to publish his penetrating analysis of Rav Lichtenstein's 1957 Harvard dissertation, published in 1962 under the title Henry More: The Rational Theology of a Cambridge Platonist.
Reflections on Rav Aharon Lichtenstein’s Sixth Yahrtzeit
It has been six years since Rav Aharon Lichtenstein passed away. In reviewing a 2018 collection of essays by Rav Lichtenstein’s students, Alan Jotkowitz reflects on what we have lost and the void that remains.
Site Operations and Technology by The Berman Consulting Group.