Does Peri Etz Hadar Mean Etrog?

David Moster explores the meaning of Peri Etz Hadar.

Leavings of Sin: Rav Aharon Lichtenstein on Teshuvah

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

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.

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.

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.

The Customs of Sefirah aren’t about Mourning. They are about Quarantine.

Ben Greenfield looks at the similarity between Sefirah observances and quarantine, and suggests a new way to understand the connection.

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.

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.

Laughter in the Face of Tragedy: The Enduring Resistance of Rabbi Akiva

Miriam Zami’s essay, runner-up to Hadar's annual Ateret Zvi Prize, uncovers the political and theological resistance of Rabbi Akiva’s laughter in the wake of the destruction of the Temple.

Do Children Belong in Shul?

Moshe Kurtz explores halakhic and hashkafic considerations surrounding bringing young children to shul.