Jewish Thought and History

Tragic events this past summer brought a wave of protests against racial injustice that shows few signs of abating. Yitzhak Grossman shares how rabbinic leaders in the United States and Israel have historically approached the tactic of protest, and explores what their views might mean for our current moment.

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.

After six months suspended between quarantine, isolation, and uncertainty, it’s natural to want to run away from home, especially as Yom Kippur looms and we realize it’s time for a change. But, as Matthew Nitzanim explains, this understandable reaction would miss the point of Teshuvah: everything we need to work on is right here, wherever it is we find ourselves.

After Professor Yaakov Blidstein's passing on Thursday, Marc Herman recalls his teacher's astonishing blend of scholarly creativity and intellectual humility.

We will all be much more distant from each other this Rosh Hashanah. That’s why, argues Ranana Dine, it’s time to revive the tradition of sending physical greeting cards.

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.

Baruch Sterman describes how an encounter with a missionary led him to a greater understanding of Ramban's commentary on this week's Parshah.

Ilan Fuchs reviews Naomi Seidman’s book Sarah Schenirer and the Bais Yaakov Movement.

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

Alex Ozar analyzes the writings of R. Soloveitchik and several other contemporary Jewish thinkers to argue for the existence of a Mitzvah of become a prophet.