Modern

Seth Farber explores the Rav's 1932 in local Boston historical context.

Jonathan Muskat responds to Jonathan Sarna regarding a proposed change in the text of the Orthodox Jewish prayer for the government.

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.

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.

As Daf Yomi learners begin studying Shekalim, Tamara Morsel-Eisenberg offers an erudite answer to the question: What is Yerushalmi Shekalim doing in the Babylonian Talmud?

Chesky Kopel looks at the various tellings and retellings of the controversial deal that Rudolph Kastner made with Nazi leadership in Budapest and argues that they represent a modern-day Midrashic presentation of the history.

Contemporary physicians have been heroic in the battle against COVID-19, but what was it like to be one of a handful of Jewish doctors confronting the Bubonic Plague during the 17th-century in Italy? Prolific medical halakhist and historian Eddie Reichman takes a close look at the four Jewish graduates of the Padua medical school class of 1623.

With newly found material, Bezalel Naor places Rav Kook's Hasidut into historical and literary context.

Did the Founding Fathers study Kabbalah? Yisroel Ben-Porat reviews Brian Ogren’s new book Kabbalah and the Founding of America.

Tzvi Sinensky responds to Lawrence Kaplan and continues the discussion on Mendelssohn and Jewish law.