Jewish Thought and History

Whom did the Spanish Flu take from our community 100 years ago? Zev Eleff introduces us to the forgotten legacy of Solomon Hurwitz, the founding principal of Yeshiva University's boys' high school, and a pioneer of Torah U-madda.

Natalie Zemon Davis, a Jewish historian known for shining a light on the lives of marginalized people in the early modern period, passed away in October. Ronnie Perelis commemorates Dr. Zemon Davis by reflecting on the experience of teaching her revolutionary work to his students at Stern College for Women.

Lawrence Kaplan defends his translation of Halakhic Man and calls for more efforts to make Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik's writings accessible to English readers.

Leah Sarna contributes to the Lehrhaus Symposium on the recent OU statement regarding female clergy.

Ariel Evan Mayse concludes his four-part discussion with the works of Arthur Green and the future of the Neo-Hasidism.

Tovah Lichtenstein responds to and critiques Zev Eleff's counter-history, "What if Rav Aharon Had Stayed?"

Those of us who feel deeply connected and indebted to Hasidism should ask ourselves a difficult and perhaps painful question: Is Netivot Shalom the sefer that we want to represent us to the rest of Am Yisrael?

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.

Ariel Evan Mayse discusses Neo-Hasidism through the eyes of Abraham Joshua Heschel and Zelda Schneurson Mishkovsky.

Just in advance of the shloshim for David Ellenson, the former president of Hebrew Union College, Jonathan D. Sarna pays tribute to a man whose life, work, and friendships spanned the Jewish denominational divide.