Holidays

Who's the Pioneer of Hasidic Literature, Most Important Zionist, and Defender of the Masorah? Shlomo Zuckier explores Ahron Marcus' legacy.

Mitchell First reviews Yehuda Landy's Purim and the Persian Empire.

Yosef Lindell tracks the Staff of Moses throughout its amazing "life".

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

Tzvi Sinensky responds to Herzl Hefter's Akeida essay.

In a rare piece of Lehrhaus Purim Torah, Mark Glass explores—with surprising halakhic rigor—whether the Pokémon named Bulbasaur’s use of a Solar Beam attack would constitute cooking on Shabbat.

This year, instead of thinking about the reasons for Jonah’s flight from Nineveh in particular, we can gain a new appreciation for his need to break free altogether. Ahead of Yom Kippur, Erica Brown considers the unique resonance of the book of Jonah in an era marked by isolation and quarantine.

How did Esther shape the way Puritans saw the ideal role of the contemporary woman? Cotton Mather, a major player in the Salem Witch Trials, had much to say in his Ornaments for the Daughters of Zion. Stuart Halpern of Yeshiva University explains, wishing us all a Puritan Purim.

In a fascinating analysis, Gavriel Lakser places the Megillah in the context of the overarching struggle between the Jewish people and Amalek.

How can we respond to a Seder during which it is prohibited to host guests? Yitzchak Etshalom and David Block each offer unique tefillot to be recited at our Seder table this year.