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"
What is Teshuvah? Contrasting the Rav and Rav Lichtenstein
Meir Ekstein contransts Rav Soloveitchik’s and Rav Lichtenstein’s respective approaches to Teshuva.
Ve-Atah Banim Shiru La-Melekh – People Over Angels on Shavuot
What can a medieval piyut (and famous modern chassidic tune) teach us about people's superiority over angels? Yitzchak Szyf explores how our Shavuot liturgy proclaims man's partnership with God in Torah.
Rabbi Yohanan Reads the Book of Job
In his latest for the Lehrhaus, Dan Ornstein creatively imagines the story of the Talmudic sage Rabbi Yohanan through his teachings on the Book of Job. The short story is followed by a reflection on the methodology and power of "contemporary midrash."
Rebuilding a Future When Our World Comes Crashing Down
Ezra Zuckerman Sivan examines how the yibbum triangle of Ruth, Tamar, and Lot's daughters teaches us how to rebuild our lives in a time of upheaval.
Beyond Perfect Repentance
Eliezer Finkelman discusses the meaning of perfect repentance.
Reclaiming Lag ba-Omer
Rav Ronen Neuwirth suggests that the strictures of social distancing enable us to reduce this year's Lag BaOmer bonfires - which he sees as a very good thing.
An Obligation of Sight: Depictions of Suffering in the Haggadah
Ranana Dine explores the depictions of suffering in haggadot.
Should the Davening of the Tenth of Tevet Take Sides in a Talmudic Debate?
Several reasons are given in our tradition about the reason for the fast on the Tenth of Tevet. The liturgy for the day takes a stand on what the true reasons are, but Yaakov Jaffe questions whether this stand is the right one.
Book Review: Haroset: A Taste of Jewish History by Susan Weingarten
Yakov Ellenbogen reviews Susan Weingarten's Haroset: A Taste of Jewish History.