Contemporary

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.

David Fried clarifies the concept of imitating God through Rashi's oft-neglected reading of “It is not good for man to be alone”

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.

Alan Jotkowitz reviews the latest volume of Dr. Haym Soloveitchik’s collected essays, bringing us back to the world of medieval Ashkenaz.

Steven Gotlib explores similarities between Rabbis Dov Singer and Arthur Green in their models of prayer and how this model can make prayer meaningful even when experiencing doubts in one’s faith.

In honor of the recent release of Moshe Koppel's new Koren/Maggid book, Judaism Straight Up: Why Real Religion Endures, Elli Fischer traces the decades-long trajectory of Koppel's "Torah of the Kishkes" philosophy of Judaism.

Alan Jotkowitz explores how frequently overlooked passages in the writings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, and Rabbi Jonathan Sacks can help pave a path forward for us on theological issues in a post-Covid world.

David Silverstein explores Rabbi Nachum Rabinovich’s approach to Aveirah Li-Shmah and how this relates to his broader concept of autonomy as a halakhic value.

Natan Oliff explores the theological implications of teshuva in a world that is God’s prescripted story.

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