Torah Personalities

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.

What changed when Rabbi Sacks retired from the Chief Rabbinate and came to America? In advance of Rabbi Sacks’ sheloshim, British native Joe Wolfson, JLIC rabbi at NYU, recalls a more relaxed and accessible Rabbi Sacks in his post-Chief Rabbinate years.

Yehuda Fogel comments on the nature of controversy and dispute through the eyes of R. Nahman of Bratslav

Sefaria has recently published a new bilingual digital edition of Talmud Yerushalmi. Taking stock of this development, Zachary Rothblatt offers an erudite synthesis of the history of Yerushalmi.

Yisrael Kashkin and Jeffrey Saks provide a timeline for the Rav's American arrival.

Shana Strauch Schicks's reflection commemorating the passing of Yaakov Elman, ob"m.

In commemoration of the shloshim of Rabbi Simcha Krauss z"l, Dan Margulies offers a moving reflection of his teacher.

Raphael Jospe and Zach Truboff write regarding recent articles that have driven conversation.

At the Orthodox Union in 1997, Rabbi Sacks first developed the theme that there are 2 Torot: Torat Kohanim and Torat Nevi'im. Nathan Diament shares from that talk, interwoven with personal reflections on Rabbi Sacks' optimism and his insightful use of Jewish jokes.

Natalie Zemon Davis, a Jewish historian known for shining a light on the lives of marginalized people in the early modern period, passed away in October. Ronnie Perelis commemorates Dr. Zemon Davis by reflecting on the experience of teaching her revolutionary work to his students at Stern College for Women.