Beyond Holocaust Time
Eli Rubin reviews Alan Rosen's The Holocaust’s Jewish Calendars: Keeping Time Sacred, Making Time Holy.
The Yom Kippur War and Yeshivat Har Etzion: Letters from a Talmid
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, published here are excerpts from letters of an American student studying in Israel in 1973. These letters, written during and immediately after the war, shed light on Yeshivat Har Etzion in its formative years and the lasting impact of the Yom Kippur War.
Darkness Will Envelop Me: A Meditation on Hanukkah
Dr. Devora Steinmetz offers a meditation on the significance of Hanukkah and darkness.
The Power of Secrets: Jacob, Laban, and the Passover Haggadah
What led the Rabbis of the Seder to present Laban as a more diabolical enemy of the Jews than Pharaoh? Erica Brown shows how Laban took advantage of Jacob's insecurities as he arrived empty-handed at Laban's home.
No Rest for the Weary? Ambiguity in Yehudah Halevi’s “Yom Shabbaton”
Yaakov Jaffe analyzes the multiple meanings of a medieval Jewish poem and popular Shabbat table song.
Song of the Sea: Making a Space for Joy and Sorrow
Zach Truboff draws on personal experience in considering the place of Yizkor on Yom Tov.
Yom Kippur, Fasting, and the Poor: Considering the Message of Isaiah 58
With Yom Kippur in view, Shlomo Zuckier presents a close reading of Isaiah 58.
My Body in the East, My Heart in the West
What is it like to make aliyah from New Jersey precisely at a time when North American Jewry is suffering more heavily than Israel? Ahead of Yom Yerushalayim, Sarah Rindner, drawing on Yehuda ha-Levi and Yehudah Amichai, reflects.
Ahron Marcus: The Leading Hasidic, Zionist, Scholar of Ancient Judaism You Never Heard of
Who's the Pioneer of Hasidic Literature, Most Important Zionist, and Defender of the Masorah? Shlomo Zuckier explores Ahron Marcus' legacy.
Esther the Queen, Hester Prynne, and The Scarlet Letter as Biblical Commentary
Tzvi Sinensky explores the hidden world of Esther with the help of Nathaniel Hawthorne.