Jewish Thought and History

Francis Nataf considers the legacy of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch.

In a chapter adapted from his new book, Be, Become, Bless: Jewish Spirituality between East and West, Yaakov Nagen suggests based on the Zohar that the world endures when we see Godliness in another person's face.

Avinoam Stillman argues that the uniqueness of Yaakov Nagen's newly-translated book lies in its eclecticism and down-to-earth relevance to everyday life.

Natan Oliff looks at the various ways Jewish thinkers have found meaning in determinism.

Gavriel Lakser offers a new approach to the problem of evil based on the beginning of Genesis.

Yiscah Smith explores the conceptions of teshuvah presented in the writings of the Piaseczner Rebbe and the Ba’al Ha-Tanya, identifying in them a novel approach to personal growth that speaks to contemporary Jews.

Responding to Moshe Kurtz, Olivia Friedman argues that forging deep connections between Torah and popular culture can be an uplifting and sanctified experience.

Levi Morrow reviews four new books that examine and apply the thought of R. Joseph B. Solovetichik of blessed memory. Image: below

Elinatan Kupferberg argues that the boundaries between Torah and Madda have blurred and evolved throughout Jewish intellectual history. This erudite analysis upends our assumptions about Torah u-Madda and breathtakingly reimagines its past, present, and future.

A review of Yehoshua November’s The Concealment of Endless Light.