Commentary

With the 10th yarhtzeit of Rav Yehuda Amital, founding Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion, upcoming this Sunday, we are honored to publish some poignant remembrances from his students. First up is Yehuda Mirsky of Brandeis University, who recalls his last conversation with Rav Amital.

What motivated the first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rav Herzog, to work tirelessly on the seemingly quixotic project of running the modern State of Israel on the basis of Halakhah? Reviewing Alexandar Kaye's new book on the subject, Rabbi Shalom Carmy explains.

Aryeh Klapper explores the Mikvah leniencies of Rabbi David Miller and what led one of his opponents to accuse him of making an obvious grammar mistake.

Can individual autonomy be reconciled with the practice of Halakhah? It can and must, insisted Rav Nachum Rabinovich zz"l. In honor of Rav Rabinovich's sheloshim this past Thursday, David Silverstein explains.

Laurance Wieder's After Adam was named the Book of the Year in 2019 by First Thing's John Wilson, but has been largely overlooked in the Jewish community. The Jewish Review of Book's Michal Leibowitz seeks to remedy this in her review of Wieder's lyrical retelling of the Bible.

Tova Warburg Sinensky shares her stirring eulogy for her Zeida Dr. Norman Lamm zz"l, offering a glimpse of her grandfather's unyielding support of his granddaughter, then a young lady searching for a deeper connection with God.

Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter of Yeshiva University and The Jewish Center shares divrei hesped for his rabbinic predecessor and role model, Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm zz"l.

Rabbi Kenneth Brander, head of Ohr Torah Stone, explores what the daily blessing on Talmud Torah can teach us about how to foster religious continuity.

What can a medieval piyut (and famous modern chassidic tune) teach us about people's superiority over angels? Yitzchak Szyf explores how our Shavuot liturgy proclaims man's partnership with God in Torah.

Rav Yoni Rosensweig remembers his rebbe, HaRav Nachum Rabinovitch zz"l.