Forty Years Later: The Rav’s Opening Shiur at the Stern College for Women Beit...
Forty years ago, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik changed women's Torah education forever. Rabbi Saul Berman tells us how that happened.
Why Are There Empty Chairs in the Beit Midrash?: Updating the Communal Agenda
Tova Warburg Sinensky
“We are commanded to love God, exalted be He, to meditate upon and closely examine His mitzvot, His commandments, and His works,...
Building Upon the Rav’s Legacy in Women’s Learning
Ezra Schwartz
The recently published account of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s inaugural shiur at Stern College has rightfully generated much conversation about women and Gemara study. In light of this appropriate benchmark of forty years,...
Listening to Women’s Voices
In response to Sruli Besser's recent Mishpacha article, Sarah Rudolph suggests that his position was at odds with Judaism's midrashic tradition.
Letters to the Editor: Responses to Emmanuel Bloch and Laurie Novick on Reclaiming Dignity
Our recent article by Emmanuel Bloch on the book Reclaiming Dignity generated much discussion. Now, two readers respond.
An Alternative History of American Modern Orthodoxy
Leah Sarna contributes to the Lehrhaus Symposium on the recent OU statement regarding female clergy.
Should the Bible be Translated in a Gender-Sensitive Way?
Martin Lockshin reviews the Jewish Publication Society’s latest Bible translation, the JPS Tanakh: Gender-Sensitive Edition.
Leadership Through Retreat: A New Perspective on the Book of Esther
The biblical figure of Esther is often interpreted by traditional and modern commentators as a heroine of active leadership. Naama Sadan offers a novel perspective, according to which Esther confronts national crisis in female-coded ways, triumphing and saving her people through internally-focused activism.
Explaining Sarah’s Absence: Why Sarah is not Mentioned at the Akeidah
Sarah's conspicuous absence from the dramatic Akeidah narrative is the subject of both traditional and scholarly interpretation. Michael Wolff offers an approach through the lens of gender roles.
The Mikveh Never Closed: What the Pandemic Has Taught Us About Mikveh
Last year at this time, when the pandemic brought tremendous upheaval to Jewish communal institutions the mikveh remained open for use. In this expansive piece, Mijal Bitton and Elana Stein Hain examine the communal response to mikveh during COVID-19, explore the experiences of women who chose to use--or not use--the mikveh during this time, and offer constructive recommendations for the future.
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