Madda or Hokhmah? Rabbi Jonathan Sacks on the Integration of Torah and General Wisdom
In the next installment of our Torah u-Madda symposium, Dr. Erica Brown reflects on the concepts and values expressed by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt"l in his discussions on the integration of Torah and secular life.
Torah u-Madda’s Moment
Stu Halpern weighs in on the eternal wisdom Torah u-Madda offers the world during the fraught times in which we live.
Torah u-Madda Thirty Years Later
Elana Stein Hain explores how the frameworks offered by the humanities can mesh with our Torah-driven lives.
Reclaiming Torah u-Madda: A Symposium
The notion of Torah u-Madda—that Torah and secular studies can enrich each other—has been a byword in the Modern Orthodox community for decades. Yet some have claimed it is in decline. Over the course of the next few weeks, Lehrhaus is proud to present a symposium grappling with Torah u-Madda: how we got here, the challenges that have arisen, and how its meaning continues to evolve over time.
Why Pandemics Happen to Good People
What theological language can we use to describe our current pandemic moment? In an excerpt from his forthcoming book, Jeremy Brown takes scope of the ancient and modern notions of plague theodicy and reviews some ideas from the 2021 National Jewish Book Award Winner Torah in a Time of Plague.
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.
Rekindling the Holy Fire: Fighting over Faith in the Aish Kodesh
In his newest review, former Lehrhaus webmaster Steve Gotlib looks at Hasidim, Suffering and Renewal: The Prewar and Holocaust Legacy of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira and examines scholars’ differing views on whether the Aish Kodesh experienced a crisis of faith due to the Holocaust.
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”
What Can We Learn From Louis Jacobs?
Louis Jacobs, the controversial British rabbi and theologian, died 15 years ago. Steven Gotlib reviews Harry Freedman’s new book on Jacobs’ life, and considers how what happened to Jacobs should inform the way we draw the boundaries of Orthodoxy today.
A Return to the World of Medieval Ashkenaz
Alan Jotkowitz reviews the latest volume of Dr. Haym Soloveitchik’s collected essays, bringing us back to the world of medieval Ashkenaz.
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