Commentary

In December 1932, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik had just arrived in Boston and outlined his vision for Orthodox Jewish education in the United States.

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.

Yosef Lindell argues that the Haggadah focuses on the story of the Exodus rather than on the laws of the paschal sacrifice as a way of looking forward towards the future redemption.

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.

Ezra Schwartz The recently published account of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s inaugural shiur at Stern College has rightfully generated much conversation about women and Gemara study. In light of this appropriate benchmark of forty years,...

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 this thought-provoking piece, Aharon Frazer traces the approach to power and privilege in the Torah from Genesis through Deuteronomy, and offers a framework for the ethical use of power in our own times.

When Synagogues Reopen, May the Congregation Permit a Bar Mitzvah Boy to Make Up His Torah Reading? Moshe Kurtz weighs in.

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.

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