Commentary

The zogerke or firzogerin, once the vernacular translator in the women’s section of the synagogue, has faded into distant memory. Dalia Wolfson reimagines her for our times.

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

Michah Gottlieb reflects on the recent discussion on biblical scholarship and its implications for Orthodox Jews, in light of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch's writings. 

Yosef Lindell argues that the explanatory Kinot model, where fewer prayers are said but they are delved into in more depth, should be adopted for reciting Selihot.

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

Martin Lockshin reviews the Jewish Publication Society’s latest Bible translation, the JPS Tanakh: Gender-Sensitive Edition.

In honor of the yahrtzeit of Dolce, the wife of Rabbi Eleazar of Worms, Chaya Sima Koenigsberg explores Rabbi Eleazar's moving elegy for his wife and reflects upon Dolce's character as a model for Koenigsberg's own life and the lives of Jewish women today.

In a never-before-published memoir, Rabbi Joseph H. Lookstein recalls the politics that surrounded Yeshiva University upon the death of President Bernard Revel and the search for his successor. 

What is the appropriate way to address a rabbi? Moshe Kurtz offers a thoughtful perspective on lay usage of rabbinic titles.

Ilan Fuchs on the Lubavitcher Rebbe's unique view on women's Torah learning.