Hanukkah or Hanoch-ah: Illuminating the Origins and Trajectory of an Apocalyptic Holiday
In his latest for the Lehrhaus, Aton Holzer sheds light on the hidden roots of Hanukkah–exploring the political and theological meaning of the holiday from the Second Temple period through the Talmud.
The Directional Shaking of the Lulav: Bible, Mysticism, and Religious Polemics
Yaakov Jaffe traces the origins and evolution of the custom to shake the lulav in different directions.
Was the Sotah Meant to be Innocent?
For Parshat Naso, Lehrhaus editor Yosef Lindell compares three twentieth-century rereadings of the Sotah ritual that make the passage more palatable to modern audiences.
Frum and Free? Passover and Jewish Views on Liberty
Aton Holzer offers a novel re-reading of the Seder, arguing that it reflects and recreates four types of liberty that can be found in the Exodus narrative, as well as a fifth form of freedom.
Revival of the Forgotten Talmud
Sefaria has recently published a new bilingual digital edition of Talmud Yerushalmi. Taking stock of this development, Zachary Rothblatt offers an erudite synthesis of the history of Yerushalmi.
Man is not God: The Limits of Imitatio Dei
David Fried clarifies the concept of imitating God through Rashi's oft-neglected reading of “It is not good for man to be alone”
Finding Meaning in Determinism: How Jewish Thinkers Reconcile the Contradiction between Determinism and Human...
Natan Oliff looks at the various ways Jewish thinkers have found meaning in determinism.
Purim and Paul: The Torah Veiled and Unveiled
What do Paul, Purim costumes, and Purim torah all have in common? Yehuda Fogel delves into the meaning of hiddenness and its role in revelation on Purim.
Review of Yehuda Landy: Purim and the Persian Empire
Mitchell First reviews Yehuda Landy's Purim and the Persian Empire.
Dancing with the Text: The Rabbinic Use of Midrashic Allegory
Malka Simkovich explores how Chazal approached our sacred texts in their midrashic allegories and how this issue continues to effect our approach to the torah today.
Site Operations and Technology by The Berman Consulting Group.