Culture

What motivated the first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rav Herzog, to work tirelessly on the seemingly quixotic project of running the modern State of Israel on the basis of Halakhah? Reviewing Alexandar Kaye's new book on the subject, Rabbi Shalom Carmy explains.

Louis Jacobs, the controversial British rabbi and theologian, died 15 years ago. Steven Gotlib reviews Harry Freedman’s new book on Jacobs’ life, and considers how what happened to Jacobs should inform the way we draw the boundaries of Orthodoxy today.

  Yael Unterman   I dedicate this essay to my friend Dr. Tsippi Kauffman z”l, who passed away in the course of its writing. A wonderful educator,...

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

It has been six years since Rav Aharon Lichtenstein passed away. In reviewing a 2018 collection of essays by Rav Lichtenstein’s students, Alan Jotkowitz reflects on what we have lost and the void that remains.

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

Risa Miller The latest addition to the burgeoning subgenre of ‘off-the-derekh’ memoirs is Tova Mirvis’s The Book of Separation. Mirvis’s three published novels, which oftentimes...

In this winning essay of the Ateret Zvi Prize, Dr. Ethan Schwartz analyzes the Yamim Nora'im experience and interpretations of what happened to Korah's children.

In honor of Father's Day, Yosef Bronstein shares thoughts about the Talmud's perspective on the relationship between fathers and children.

Jonah Rocheeld reflects on his experiences of worrying he did not belong in Torah learning, and the experience that showed him he belonged.