Commentary

Yosef Blau, Senior Mashgiah Ruhani at Yeshiva University, wonders about the direction of Religious Zionism after October 7 and considers the role of Modern Orthodoxy outside of Israel.

Many synagogue goers found the abbreviated High Holiday services we recently concluded quite appealing. Need we eventually go back to the way it was before coronavirus? Not really, argues Moshe Kurtz, surveying the substantial halakhic support for shortening the services every year.

In response to Matt William's critique, Nishma's Mark Trencher defends his method and points to the challenges of surveying Modern Orthodox Jews.

Who was Monsieur Shoshani, the mysterious and brilliant teacher of some of the greatest 20th century Jewish thinkers? A new look into recently published notebooks of this important figure may help solve the puzzle. David Lang, Yoel Finkelman, and Admiel Kosman offer a commentary and analysis of one such enigmatic passage.

Francis Nataf explores Malbim’s sophisticated engagement with Kantian ethics.

Moshe Kurtz regales us with his love of science fiction & fantasy, suggesting that the genre’s literature, movies, and games can teach Torah lessons in ethics and morality, but cautioning that Torah u-Madda ought not to become Torah u-Movies.

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.

Responding to results from the recent Pew survey, Hillel David Rapp argues that we can limit Orthodox attrition by addressing the bifurcation of Jewish and general learning in high school.

Lawrence Kobrin recalls Rabbi Norman Lamm's 1960s emergence as a pivotal Orthodox rabbi in Manhattan and Jewish intellectual.

In his review of Michael Hattin’s commentaries on the books of Joshua and Judges, Francis Nataf explores how greater collaboration between creative Tanakh teachers could help reduce the number of overly speculative readings.