Torah Personalities

If Kant or Hegel had read Rambam or the Shulhan Arukh, they might have known that Jewish law does not actually proscribe the creation of images. But that was not the way of history. It is important to reclaim visual culture and aesthetics for religious Judaism so that beauty can be allowed to inspire halakhically bound actions, to color worship, and give meaning to our rituals.

David J. Landes z"l, former chairman of the Etzion Foundation at Yeshivat Har Etzion, developed a very close relationship with Rav Aharon Lichtenstein zt"l. In honor of Rav Lichtenstein's 6th yahrtzeit, Dr. Landes' family has generously offered to publish his penetrating analysis of Rav Lichtenstein's 1957 Harvard dissertation, published in 1962 under the title Henry More: The Rational Theology of a Cambridge Platonist.

Rav Dov Zinger discusses his innovative perspective on education, and why its important to listen to what happens beyond the back and forth of the classroom.

Moshe Kurtz provides a poignant and vivid tribute to Rav Moshe Tendler, reflecting on their time learning together during the final three years of his life.

Elinatan Kupferberg argues that the boundaries between Torah and Madda have blurred and evolved throughout Jewish intellectual history. This erudite analysis upends our assumptions about Torah u-Madda and breathtakingly reimagines its past, present, and future.

Tzvi Sinensky responds to Lawrence Kaplan and continues the discussion on Mendelssohn and Jewish law.

Reading R. Eliezer b. Hyrcanus and Shammai through an autistic lens, Liz Shayne explores how uncompromising, righteous anger can find a place in the beit midrash.

After Professor Yaakov Blidstein's passing on Thursday, Marc Herman recalls his teacher's astonishing blend of scholarly creativity and intellectual humility.

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

David Berger's reflection commemorating the passing of Yaakov Elman, ob"m.