Culture

Our traditional longing for the rebuilding of the Beit Ha-Mikdash elides uncomfortable questions about the dramatic differences between sacrificial worship and our current models of serving God. Meir Kraus argues that the time has come to engage in this difficult conversation, especially in light of the growing religious-political movement to restore Jewish presence on the Temple Mount. Kraus also proposes an “alternative vision” for a future Temple era.

Responding to Moshe Kurtz, Olivia Friedman argues that forging deep connections between Torah and popular culture can be an uplifting and sanctified experience.

Sarah Rindner considers Moana's Disney revolution and its Jewish parallels.

Rav Ronen Neuwirth suggests that the strictures of social distancing enable us to reduce this year's Lag BaOmer bonfires - which he sees as a very good thing.

In this essay, Danny Groner reflects on the elements that make a synagogue a true house of worship.

Zev Eleff and Ari Lamm cap off the Lehrhaus Symposium on the OU statement.

In this essay, Edelman and Steinberg argue for a literature curriculum that integrates Jewish thought.

50 years after his passing, Agnon is as relevant as ever. Agnon expert and Lehrhaus Consulting Editor Jeffrey Saks explains.

Shumel Hain discusses how we can bridge the "Tragic Gap" between the world envisioned in the blessing on budding fruit tress and our current reality of pandemic and tragedy

In this imaginative short story from David Zvi Kalman, as synagogue attendance shrinks, the buildings themselves begin to grow.