Seinfeld at Your Seder
Esther Lindell reviews “The Haggadah about Nothing,” Rabbi Sam Reinstein’s not-too-serious exploration of how the Haggadah relates to Seinfeld, the ever-popular 90s sitcom.
Does Hashem Wear Pyjamas? On The Unacknowledged Educators Of Seder Night
As we approach the Seder, Joe Wolfson invites us to consider how children’s questions help adults appreciate the true meaning of Pesach.
The Seder is Anything but Orderly
Why is the Haggadah such a disorganized text? Lehrhaus editor Yosef Lindell offers a strikingly novel approach to the dynamic nature of the Passover seder.
Holidays Reimagined: From Pesah To Purim To Post-Hurban Pesah
Shimon Laufer examines how Rabbinic understanding of the holiday of Passover influenced the holiday of Purim, and how one of the oldest manuscripts of the Mishnah hints that the converse may be true as well.
Queen Aster and Queen Esther
Ariel Clark Silver describes how Queen Esther’s story inspired women’s rights activist Louisa May Alcott’s short fable of an Aster who wisely ruled the kingdom of the flowers.
A Journey Across the Ages: Esther in America
Jennifer Caplan reviews Esther in America, a timely volume featuring essays by a number of Lehrhaus editors that addresses how the characters and themes of Megillat Esther have been integrated into American thought and culture over time.
Should the Davening of the Tenth of Tevet Take Sides in a Talmudic Debate?
Several reasons are given in our tradition about the reason for the fast on the Tenth of Tevet. The liturgy for the day takes a stand on what the true reasons are, but Yaakov Jaffe questions whether this stand is the right one.
Masculinity and the Hanukkah Hero: Toward a New Interpretation of Biblical Gevurah
The Maccabees were renowned as gibborim. But what exactly is gevurah, and what does it mean for dicussions about manhood and Zionism? Tzvi Sinensky uses Hanukkah as a starting point for this contemporary conversation.
Up to Hashem and Down to the World: Making Sense of Beit Shammai and...
Countless explanations have been offered to explain the debate between Beit Hillel and Beit Shamai as to whether we light the Hanukkah candles in ascending or descending order. Yet remarkably, Hannah Abrams manages to offer a strikingly novel reading of this debate. Her analysis is well worth the read.
Stay One More Day
Daniel Goldberg examines how four versions of a Midrash about Shemini Atzeret reflect different aspects of the Jewish people's relationship with God.