A Life Worth Living

As Yom Kippur approaches, Bruce Black's poem touches on the simple power of a humble and earnest request for forgiveness.

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.

Peshat and Beyond: The Emergence of A Reluctant Leader

Batya Hefter explores Moses' development as a leader

Leavings of Sin: Rav Aharon Lichtenstein on Teshuvah

Shlomo Zuckier reviews Rav Aharon Lichtenstein's just-released book on teshuvah

The Myth of the Judaic Puritans

Did the English Puritans of New England emulate Jewish prayers and practices? Yisroel Benporat investigates the common claim and its complexities--as well as what the myth itself tells us about Jews in America.

In Plain Sight: Jewish Masquerade from Clueless to the Rabbis

Why have stories of Jewish masquerade captured audiences since ancient times? In her latest, Malka Z. Simkovich explores the hidden meaning behind dressing up, from the Second Temple to '90s cinema.

After Lag: Two Readings on The ‘Self-Praise’ of Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai

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

Hollow Land

Zohar Atkins shares a few poetic excerpts in honor of Tishah be-Av

“I Would Soar to the Sphere of Heaven”: Aleph and “I” in a Tishah...

In advance of Tisha Be-Av, Tzvi Novick annotates and interprets the kinnah of a’adeh ad hug shamayim by the master poet R. Eleazar ha-Kalir, unlocking its complex acrostic to determine who its speaker is meant to be.

Was God Angry at Sarah?

Ben Greenfield God isn’t angry with Sarah, when she laughs at the idea of birthing a child in her old age (Gen. 18:12-15). God is...