Rabbi Norman Lamm and His Crusade for the Jewish Home
Zev Eleff explores how the Jewish family anchored Rabbi Norman Lamm's sermons and thought during the destabilizing 1960s.
Resurrecting Moses Mendelssohn
Tzvi Sinensky
As chronicled in Robert Putnam’s 2000 classic book, Bowling Alone, loneliness is one of the vexing challenges of modern life. The advent of the...
Rabbi Chaim Yaakov Goldvicht and His Unintentional Revolution in Yavneh
Shlomo Abramovich explores the relationship and tensions between KBY and its founding rosh yeshiva.
Shavuot: The Wakeup Call
Batya Hefter explores a Hasidic understanding of “Sinai consciousness” and proposes a way to re-experience it on Shavuot.
An Old Jew and His Grandchildren
In the 1950s, Eliezer Berkovits reflects on Judaism, tradition and how generations connect with one another.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Theory of Education
In this review of a new book by Aryeh Solomon, Ilan Fuchs explores how for the Lubavitcher Rebbe, teaching and learning are a sacred calling leading toward spiritual growth.
An Ishbitz-Radzyn Reading of the Judah Narrative: Binah Ba-lev – An Understanding Heart
In a follow up to her recent piece about Joseph, Batya Hefter traces Judah's character development through the eyes of the Ishbitz-Radzyn masters.
Rethinking Judaism in Early America
Did the Founding Fathers study Kabbalah? Yisroel Ben-Porat reviews Brian Ogren’s new book Kabbalah and the Founding of America.
Reclaiming the Musical Past: Leon Modena and Salamone Rossi in Context
Rebecca Cypess considers the life and work of the Italian Jewish Renaissance composer Salamone Rossi, his rabbinic supporter Leon Modena, and the controversies over 17th century polyphonic music in the synagogue.
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.