Three Weeks and Tisha be-Av

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.

Ayelet Wenger offers a creative, intertextual reading of the story of Rabbi Akiva and the Wolf on the Temple Mount.

Yom Kippur marks the end of an 11 week period when thematic haftarot about the destruction of the Temple, consolation following its loss, and repentance replace haftarot connected to the weekly Torah reading. What can this grouping teach us about the nature of forgiveness and reconciliation? Hannah Abrams explains.

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.

Eileen Watts explores how Bernard Malamud's "The German Refugee" amplifies the themes of Tisha B'Av.