Holidays

Rabbi Josh Rosenfeld offers insight into the nature of the Jewish mystical tradition by examining some of Rashbi's stories. 

In this riveting short story, Leah Cypess retells a medieval Shavuot legend of how a Jewish community was saved from a deadly sorcerer.

Shimon Lerner uncovers a surprising but profound message that goes to the very heart of the Purim story.

Ezra Sivan asks what light the narratives of Shabbat and the scouts shed on some critical social questions.

After six months suspended between quarantine, isolation, and uncertainty, it’s natural to want to run away from home, especially as Yom Kippur looms and we realize it’s time for a change. But, as Matthew Nitzanim explains, this understandable reaction would miss the point of Teshuvah: everything we need to work on is right here, wherever it is we find ourselves.

Max Hollander analyzes the Talmudic narrative of Pardes and the four rabbis who entered it.

Pressed for time, people often skip reciting the korbanot section of the morning prayers. With the High Holidays approaching, Judah Kerbel makes the case that the korbanot are far more central and halakhically significant to our prayers than we often realize.

Alan Jotkowitz shares insights into Rambam’s Hilkhot Teshuvah

Countless explanations have been offered to explain the debate between Beit Hillel and Beit Shamai as to whether we light the Hanukkah candles in ascending or descending order. Yet remarkably, Hannah Abrams manages to offer a strikingly novel reading of this debate. Her analysis is well worth the read.

Rabbi Yaakov Jaffe comments on the poetry, context, and tension of Yehuda Ha-Levi's "Tziyon Halo Tishali" Kinnah.