Jewish Thought and History

How can we respond to a Seder during which it is prohibited to host guests? Yitzchak Etshalom and David Block each offer unique tefillot to be recited at our Seder table this year.

What do Adam, Enkidu, and Reish Lakish all have in common? Eli Putterman explores.

Yisrael Kashkin and Jeffrey Saks provide a timeline for the Rav's American arrival.

The Hasidic work, Aish Kodesh, under the scholarly microscope, by Henry Abramson.

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.

Yael Unterman reviews a new book exploring the limits religious authenticity and Judaism.

Mitchell First reviews Yehuda Landy's Purim and the Persian Empire.

Chesky Kopel analyzes an early Zionist text to give insight into Jewish reactions to the Armenian genocide.

Leah Sarna addresses the perceived disconnect between the ideal Torah U-Madda lifestyle and the gendered reality of advanced Torah study for women.

In December 1932, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik had just arrived in Boston and outlined his vision for Orthodox Jewish education in the United States.