Personal Reflections

The Yom Kippur War was a defining moment in the life of poet Leonard Cohen, a moment when his entire spiritual destiny hung in the balance. Bezalel Naor on Cohen's priestly imagination.

Enter the Baltic Coast in the late 1980's, in George Kuchinsky's reflection on a childhood encounter with anti-semitism.

Benjamin Marcus was commissioned to create illustrations for an illuminated manuscript of the Book of Ruth. In this one-of-a-kind article, he shares his challenges, his discoveries, and his art.

Aryeh Klapper with some new translation-stylings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik's Halakhic Man.

As the annual infertility awareness Shabbat approaches, Shoshanah Haberman reflects on the biblical stories of our infertile foremothers, connecting them to her own experiences and to the lives of women today.

Gilad Goldberg describes the bewildering experience of reporting for emergency reserve duty on October 7.

Natalie Zemon Davis, a Jewish historian known for shining a light on the lives of marginalized people in the early modern period, passed away in October. Ronnie Perelis commemorates Dr. Zemon Davis by reflecting on the experience of teaching her revolutionary work to his students at Stern College for Women.

As the tumultuous events of 2020 continue into the heady days of summer, the Lehrhaus is looking back, with short reflections on the moments we have been thinking about. Our first reflection is from new Lehrhaus editor Yosef Lindell, thinking about his lonely return to communal prayer.

In honor of Hanukkah, Admiel Kosman considers literary and aggadic traditions that depict holy people as burning flames or sources of light. He proposes that these traditions be read in light of Martin Buber’s insight regarding the dialogical personality.

Alex Fleksher explores the intersection between Hamilton and the ba'al teshuvah experience.