Must Creativity and Rigor be Either/Or?

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.

The Directional Shaking of the Lulav: Bible, Mysticism, and Religious Polemics

Yaakov Jaffe traces the origins and evolution of the custom to shake the lulav in different directions.
Rav Shagar

On Subjectivity and Pluralism: Sparks of Rav Shagar’s Thought

Udi Dvorkin offers a plea to take Rav Shagar at his full value, which means reading him in the original Hebrew.

What’s Missing In “The View From Pew”

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.

The Dark Side of Torah u-Madda: Chaim Potok and Core-to-Core Cultural Confrontation

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.
Rabbi Lamm

Creation in a Chaotic Decade: Rabbi Lamm in the 60s

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

Of Sages, Prophets, and Politics from the Pulpit

Jason Herman examines whether or not rabbis should talk politics in shul.
Norman Lamm

Rabbi Norman Lamm and His Crusade for the Jewish Home

Zev Eleff explores how the Jewish family anchored Rabbi Norman Lamm's sermons and thought during the destabilizing 1960s.

Jewish Theology For a Neo-Traditional Age

Steven Gotlib reviews Yehuda (Jerome) Gellman’s book on neo-traditional Jewish theology.

Hebrew Bible or Old Testament? Evaluating the American Biblical Tradition

Did the Founding Fathers derive their biblical values from the Hebrew Bible, or just the Old Testament? Yisroel Ben-Porat reviews "Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land."