Jewish Thought and History

In honor of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’s fifth yahrtzeit, we present Steven Gotlib's study of Rabbi Sacks's longstanding criticism of the religious worldview of Rabbi Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik.

In this essay, Yehoshua November presents a model for preparing for the High Holidays

In this essay, Danny Groner reflects on the elements that make a synagogue a true house of worship.

In honor of Rosh Hashanah 5786, Akiva Weisinger retells and reimagines the parable of the king "who wished to be seen, but did not want to be seen."

Chaim Trachtman compares science and theodicy based on a novel read of the book of Job.

In this essay, Eileen Watts draws parallels between Daniel Deronda and the book of Exodus

  Aton M. Holzer The fifteenth of Av – among the most minor of minor festivals on the Jewish calendar – is marked in the diaspora...

Yaakov Jaffe examines the anti-Christian polemic in Maharam of Rottenberg's Kinnah about the burning of the Talmud.

The death of Nadav and Avihu is difficult to explain, perhaps even impossible to approach through the medium of language. In a composition crossing the boundaries of original drashah, Breslov thought, poetry, visual art, and historical fiction, Akiva Weisinger renders the tragedy of Nadav and Avihu as a reflection of the Vacated Space beyond human language.

Ron Ennis explores the similarities and differences between Rambam, Maharal, and Rema, in their approaches to conflicts between science and Torah.