Holidays

Akiva Shapiro offers reflections on Naomi Shemer's culture-changing song.

Yaakov Jaffe delves into two possible themes of the song Maoz Tzur.

Zvi Grumet suggests that when read in sequence, the kinot of R. Elazar Ha-Kalir—often seen as the ones most difficult to understand—offer a powerful theological narrative from despair to hope.

Judah Kerbel discusses why we say an abbreviated Hallel on the last six days of Pesah and contemplates what that says about the war in Israel; self-defense is a must, as is gratitude toward God, but we also hold space for the losses on the other side.

In a piece that resonates today, Tzvi Sinensky examines what made the Jews' salvation from the plague of the firstborns so miraculous.

Harris Bor meditates on the world of Passover in his new poem for the Lehrhaus.

Yaakov Jaffe examines different views on which of Ruth's attributes first sparked Boaz's attention, and explores what that means about how we define a Jewish hero.

In an original Hebrew poem, Shoshanah Haberman addresses the crisis in Israel and Gaza, mourns the dead, and prays for the future.

Jerome Marcus explores understandings of freedom within halakhah and how they relate to Pesah and Shavuot

With Hoshanah Rabbah today and the theme of repentance in mind, Jack Cohen explores the role that outsiders play in one's teshuva process through an enigmatic midrash instructing one to return a person to themselves.