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.

Ahron Marcus: The Leading Hasidic, Zionist, Scholar of Ancient Judaism You Never Heard of

Who's the Pioneer of Hasidic Literature, Most Important Zionist, and Defender of the Masorah? Shlomo Zuckier explores Ahron Marcus' legacy.

On Religious Jewish Counterculture in Translation

Avinoam Stillman argues that the uniqueness of Yaakov Nagen's newly-translated book lies in its eclecticism and down-to-earth relevance to everyday life.

“This Is Prayer”: Hitbodedut In Rav Shagar’s and Rav Elhanan Nir’s Writings

Jeremy Tibbetts explores Hitbodedut in the thought of Rav Shagar and Rav Elchanan Nir, two contemporary Israeli thinkers.

There Are No Lights in War: We Need a Different Religious Language

A growing list of dati le’umi leaders and thinkers frame war as a desirable state and even an opportunity for spiritual elevation. Religious Israeli activist Ariel Shwartz traces this trend with alarm and argues that it contradicts deep-rooted Torah values. Translated by Mordechai Blau.

Neo-Hasidism and its Discontents

In his latest for Lehrhaus, Steven Gotlib considers Neo-Hasidism’s continued inroads into Orthodox thought and practice in his review of Contemporary Uses and Forms of Hasidut, the Orthodox Forum volume edited by Shlomo Zuckier.

Rebbe Without Walls: The Slonimer Sensation

Tzvi Sinensky on The Slonimer's contemporary popularity

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.

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.

Torah u-Madda Thirty Years Later

Elana Stein Hain explores how the frameworks offered by the humanities can mesh with our Torah-driven lives.