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.
Who Will Defend Maimonides? Rav Soloveitchik on the Mishneh Torah and the Guide
With the aid of some new primary sources, David Curwin offers a fresh view of the Rav's embrace of Rambam and his most important writings.
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.
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.
A Call for Order: Maimonides and the Mishnah
Yaakov Taubes explores the background to Maimonides’s explanation for how the Mishnah is ordered.
A Purim Teaching for our Time: Malbim’s Proto-Feminist Commentary on Esther
Purim - Armed with feminist and political theory, Don Seeman probes the depths of Malbim's Esther commentary.
The Living Bibles of the Vatican Library
AJ Berkovitz explores the "life" of Jewish books, from authors to owners to outside the margins.
Trajectories of Tradition: King David on Skin Lesions and Tent Impurities
AJ Berkovitz traces the reception history of a Midrash Tehillim that seems to equate the reading of Psalms with Torah study, offering a fascinating case study of how tradition evolves.
Mysticism and its Alternatives: Rethinking Maimonides
David Fried forwards the surprising thesis that Maimonides was a medieval mystic.
When Rambam Met the Izhbitser Rebbe: Response to a Straussian Reading of Hilkhot Teshuvah
Bezalel Naor responds to Bezalel Safran's Straussian reading of the Rambam.