Holidays

The tokhahah in Leviticus 26 is frequently read as a tragedy, warning of the dire consequences of sin and national failure. Ahead of Yom Kippur 5786, Milton Torres-Ceron offers a new reading, informed by the traditional "pardes" method, that frames Leviticus 26 as an affirmation on unwavering divine companionship with Israel.

In this winning essay of the Ateret Zvi Prize, Dr. Ethan Schwartz analyzes the Yamim Nora'im experience and interpretations of what happened to Korah's children.

In an investigation of the question of saying Hallel on Yom Ha'atzmaut, Shimshon HaKohen Nadel draws on analyses of Shirat Hayam and the splitting of the sea.

Gilad Goldberg describes the bewildering experience of reporting for emergency reserve duty on October 7.

  Josh Cahan   Pesikta de-Rav Kahana 12:11R. Lazar said: Like a king who wished to marry a well-born noblewoman, and said, “I will not wed her...

Ayelet Wenger offers a creative, intertextual reading of the story of Rabbi Akiva and the Wolf on the Temple Mount.

Malka Simkovich on the Hasmonean victories and the truth behind the Hanukkah miracle.

Leah Cypess imagines the what-ifs of Pesach cleaning.

Infertility figures as a tragic theme not only on Rosh Hashanah but also in biblical narrative and modern life. This morning, Yael Leibowitz writes lyrically on The Birthplace of Infertility.

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."