Three Weeks and Tisha be-Av

Zvi Grumet suggests that when read in sequence, the kinot of R. Elazar Ha-Kalir—often seen as the ones most difficult to understand—offer a powerful theological narrative from despair to hope.

Rabbi Yaakov Jaffe comments on the poetry, context, and tension of Yehuda Ha-Levi's "Tziyon Halo Tishali" Kinnah.

R.A. Alpert argues that the differences between Hamas and the Zealots outweigh the similarities.

The Talmudic story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza is often used to highlight the destructive consequences of baseless hatred. In an intriguing reading, David Hellman suggests that the hatred that motivated the tale’s participants is more complex than meets the eye.

In advance of Tisha Be-Av, Tzvi Novick annotates and interprets the kinnah of a’adeh ad hug shamayim by the master poet R. Eleazar ha-Kalir, unlocking its complex acrostic to determine who its speaker is meant to be.

Eli Rubin reviews Alan Rosen's The Holocaust’s Jewish Calendars: Keeping Time Sacred, Making Time Holy.

Max Hollander analyzes the Talmudic narrative of Pardes and the four rabbis who entered it.

Yosef Lindell argues that the explanatory Kinot model, where fewer prayers are said but they are delved into in more depth, should be adopted for reciting Selihot.

Steven Weiner writes on the significance of tears on Tishah Be-Av and how they relate to the thanks of birkat ha-mazon.

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.