Torah Personalities

Marc B. Shapiro reviews a new edited volume by Yoram Hazony, Gil Student, and Alex Sztuden that offers a traditional defense of revelation in light of modern biblical criticism.

Zev Eleff and Menachem Butler explore the reception of Moses Mendelssohn in American Orthodox Judaism, focusing on a curious commotion surrounding the bicentennial of Mendelssohn's death

Zvi Romm, a Rav on the Lower East Side for the last eighteen years, shares insights into the unexpected and remarkably democratic personality of the Rosh Yeshiva.

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.

Rav Da'vid Sperling, Rosh Beit Midrash at Nishmat and long-time student of Rav Yehuda Herzl Henkin Ztz"l, shares his eulogy from the funeral of his Rav.

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.

Drawing upon his expertise in Anglo-Jewish history, Benjamin Elton traces the intellectual journey and career of the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt"l. As a brilliant young scholar, Rabbi Sacks rose to prominence through the British Chief Rabbinate, but he transcended that role to become a global phenomenon.

Moshe Simon-Shoshan sheds new light on the Rav's approach to pluralism and academic Jewish studies.

Who was Monsieur Shoshani, the mysterious and brilliant teacher of some of the greatest 20th century Jewish thinkers? A new look into recently published notebooks of this important figure may help solve the puzzle. David Lang, Yoel Finkelman, and Admiel Kosman offer a commentary and analysis of one such enigmatic passage.

Louis Jacobs, the controversial British rabbi and theologian, died 15 years ago. Steven Gotlib reviews Harry Freedman’s new book on Jacobs’ life, and considers how what happened to Jacobs should inform the way we draw the boundaries of Orthodoxy today.