Holidays

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

With a novel reading of Josephus and Gittin, Shana Schwartz proposes that the tragedy of the second hurban and the mystery of subsequent Jewish survival may be understood by reference to the physiological knowledge available in classical antiquity.

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

Yaakov Jaffe explores four themes of Psalm 24 as recited on the second day of Rosh Hashanah.

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.

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.

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

Michael Bernstein examines how the individual experience is ironically incorporated into holidays that are all about the community.

Jon Kelsen uncovers a deeper rabbinic meaning to the blood needed to "passover" the Israelites.

The Ne’ilah prayer, which we recite only once a year, clearly represents a moment of great religious drama, but its precise nature and purpose are somewhat mysterious. Alan Jotkowitz presents four different models for understanding Ne’ilah, drawing upon the teachings of Rav Yehuda Amital, Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, and Rav Ya’akov Medan.