Israeli Culture

Tehila Wenger offers a short story on loss, eternity, and olive trees .

Yakov Nagen's Soul of the Mishna contains a wealth of readings that combine academic, literary, and spiritual perspectives on the Mishnah, writes Richard Hidary. Read the full review of the book, now accessible to an English-speaking audience, in our latest at the Lehrhaus.

Shaul Seidler-Feller Introduction Early last week, a friend forwarded me a recently-published video produced in Israel. When it began to play, I was quickly taken in...

Shalom Carmy The last couple of weeks have brought two worthwhile assessments of Rav Shagar’s Faith Shattered and Restored: Judaism in the Postmodern Age, Matt Lubin’s...

With the emerging Kneset leadership bringing together a broad range of political parties, consider Zach Truboff's review of Rav Shagar's writings (in honor of his upcoming yahrtzeit), which argue that Religious Zionist thought must transcend the old binary of Left and Right.

Avinoam Stillman argues that the uniqueness of Yaakov Nagen's newly-translated book lies in its eclecticism and down-to-earth relevance to everyday life.

Shlomo Spivack discusses the anti-spirituality of his teacher, Rav Menachem Froman.

Wendy Zierler interprets a 2015 poem by the late Haim Gouri, reflecting on the challenges of aging, and on the complex and often mournful relationship between the Jewish people, their history, and their literature.

Continuing the conversation, Dr. Miriam Feldmann-Kaye introduces postmodernism and responds to some critics of Rav Shagar.

In this thoughtful essay, Cypess reflects on the melody that is carrying Israel in the wake of October 7th.