Holidays

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.

What does Shakespeare have to say about the Exodus, Moses, and the power of storytelling? Shaina Trapedo explores how the Bard's work can speak to us during this unprecedented Pesach season.

The Poland trip has become de rigueur for Modern Orthodox gap-year students. But seismic changes in contemporary Poland and shifting trends in Modern Orthodoxy mean that the content and meaning of these trips are different than they used to be. David I. Bernstein, who has been leading Poland trips since 1992, tells the story of the student Poland experience, then and now.

Stuart Halpern explains how, when faced with uncertainty, danger, and personal and communal hardships, Americans have turned to the story of the Exodus for inspiration.

Shalva Muschel offers some perspective on George Elliot's leading Jews and the newest attempt to gain a fuller appreciation of Daniel Deronda.

Yaakov Jaffe traces the origins and evolution of the custom to shake the lulav in different directions.

Did the English Puritans of New England emulate Jewish prayers and practices? Yisroel Benporat investigates the common claim and its complexities--as well as what the myth itself tells us about Jews in America.

How should we understand Yatziv Pitgam, the enigmatic poem recited in the Haftarah for the second day of Shavuot? Tzvi Novick’s close reading reveals it to be a paean to the Torah and those who study it.

James Diamond takes a fresh approach to Maimonides's Passover theology and "Elijah's Cup."

Akiva Mattenson writes on the relationship between God and Judgement.