The Pregnant Sotah: A Case Study in the Ethics of Abortion
Yisroel Ben-Porat grapples with whether the case of the pregnant Sotah has implications for the debates surrounding abortion.
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.
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.
The Philosopher and the Mystic?
David Fried reviews Diana Lobel's Moses and Abraham Maimonides: Encountering the Divine, which argues that the categorization of Moses Maimonides as an Aristotelian philosopher and his son Abraham as a Sufi mystic is an oversimplification.
The Staggering Brilliance of Rambam’s Fourth Chapter of The Laws of Repentance
Alan Jotkowitz shares insights into Rambam’s Hilkhot Teshuvah
A “What If” Review: Hypothetical History, Science, and Halakhah
Yaakov Taubes examines three hypothetical “What if?” books and what they can teach us about history, science, and halakhah.
This 9th of Av: Do We Sing with Yehudah Ha-Levi, or on Account of...
Rabbi Yaakov Jaffe comments on the poetry, context, and tension of Yehuda Ha-Levi's "Tziyon Halo Tishali" Kinnah.
A Call for Order: Maimonides and the Mishnah
Yaakov Taubes explores the background to Maimonides’s explanation for how the Mishnah is ordered.
Punishment, Progress, Or Impossibility? Three Medieval Accounts of Exile
Jews have been confronting the concept of exile for thousands of years. How did Jewish thinkers respond to this phenomenon? @Michael Weiner outlines three medieval responses.
Parshat Ki Tavo: The Curse of the Law
Baruch Sterman describes how an encounter with a missionary led him to a greater understanding of Ramban's commentary on this week's Parshah.