Rabbi Elazar Ben Dordaya: The Master of Teshuvah

Shloime Schwartz looks at the numerous lessons about Teshuvah that the commentaries derive from the story of Rabbi Elazar ben Dordaya.

Kivnei Maron

As we approach a new calendar year, Ben Corvo's poem meditates retrospectively on this past Rosh Ha-Shanah and the darkness of everyday life.

Wake Up Sleeping One! Yehudah Ha-Levi’s Dramatic Use of Genre and Narrative Voice in...

Yaakov Jaffe examines Yehudah Ha-Levi's High Holiday poem "Yashen, Al Teradam"

Love (and Trust) Conquer All: Another Angle on the Akeidah

Alex Ozar drills down on the point of the Akeidah, responding to Herzl Hefter and Tzvi Sinensky.

The King’s Great Cover-Up and Great Confession

Ezra Sivan explores the idea of confession, through the eyes of King David

Why Can’t Selihot Be More Like Kinot?

Yosef Lindell argues that the explanatory Kinot model, where fewer prayers are said but they are delved into in more depth, should be adopted for reciting Selihot.

Haggai: Prophet of Elul

Tzvi Sinensky on how Sefer Haggai unlocks the meaning of Hodesh Elul.

Rav Hayyim and the Love of Lernen

In 1927, Rabbi Boruch Ber Leibowitz wrote a poem, an ode to Rabbi Hayyim Soloveitchik of Brisk. Nati Helfgot provides the background and a translation.