Commentary

Stu Halpern weighs in on the eternal wisdom Torah u-Madda offers the world during the fraught times in which we live.

In her winning Ateret Zvi essay, Leah Sarna explores two simultaneously true stories about pregnancy: it is at once a beautiful, incredible miracle, and also a demanding journey, both physically and mentally, that often feels more like a catastrophe. Studying the Torah's accounts of pregnancy in Tazria and Rivkah's life, Sarna offers a moving analysis of what it means to hear, tell, and live these stories.

In this personal reflection, Phil Lieberman addresses the unique pain that accompanies the loss of an abusive parent and considers the uneasy coherence of this pain with Jewish traditions of mourning.

Zev Eleff examines some of the toys peddled around by mitzvah merchants and other fascinating features of Ultra-Orthodox culture. 

Do Jewish texts teach racism? It depends on how you read them, answers Chaim Trachtman.

The father heard the voice of God, Elli Fischer explains, but the son ends up with the blade on his neck.

Alex Ozar explores wartime law in the Rambam.

David Bashevkin reviews Gleanings: Reflections on Ruth.

Sima Fried reviews Jonathan Boyarin’s Yeshiva Days, illuminating the challenges of examining a community as both an insider and an outsider.

This siddur, Yaakov Jaffe argues, is where to look to find out what Orthodox Jews believe.