Saiman’s Halakhah: Rabbinic Law as Culture
Suzanne Last Stone reviews Chaim Saiman's Halakhah: The Rabbinic Idea of Law.
The Tefillin Strap Mark: In Search of an Obscure Minhag
In tribute to his son's hanahat tefilin and Bar Mitzvah, Lehrhaus Consulting Editor Jeffrey Saks explores a little-known, mysterious practice that appears in Agnon's short story Two Pairs.
The Invention of Jewish Theocracy: A Review of Alexander Kaye’s New Book
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.
Shylock: An Unlikely Jew Named Jacob
Victor M. Erlich offers insight into an infamous Shakespearean character.
God, Torah, Self: Accepting the Yoke of Heaven in the Writings of Rav Shagar
Rav Shagar's postmodern insights on accepting the yoke of Heaven, for your pre-Shavuos reading pleasure!
The Zogerke’s Vort
The zogerke or firzogerin, once the vernacular translator in the women’s section of the synagogue, has faded into distant memory. Dalia Wolfson reimagines her for our times.
Rav Kook on Culture and History
Zach Truboff explores Rav Kook's fascinating philosophy of history, focusing on five recently translated essays.
Poems for a World Built, Destroyed, and Rebuilt
Six new poems by Elhanan Nir—published here with English translation and annotation—capture the grief and discontinuity of this moment.
Beyond Holocaust Time
Eli Rubin reviews Alan Rosen's The Holocaust’s Jewish Calendars: Keeping Time Sacred, Making Time Holy.
Welcome to the Jungle: Shababniks Meet the Spotlight
Sarah Rindner reviews Shababniks and its portrait of haredi life.
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