Jewish Thought and History

David Fried forwards the surprising thesis that Maimonides was a medieval mystic.

Steven Gotlib reviews Yehuda (Jerome) Gellman’s book on neo-traditional Jewish theology.

Tzvi Sinensky responds to Herzl Hefter's Akeida essay.

If Kant or Hegel had read Rambam or the Shulhan Arukh, they might have known that Jewish law does not actually proscribe the creation of images. But that was not the way of history. It is important to reclaim visual culture and aesthetics for religious Judaism so that beauty can be allowed to inspire halakhically bound actions, to color worship, and give meaning to our rituals.

Did Rabbeinu Bahya mention a lightning rod centuries before it was discovered? Yaakov Taubes takes us on a journey through science, magic, and religion to help explain this medieval commentator’s cryptic comment about the Tower of Babel.

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

In this thoughtful essay, Cypess reflects on the melody that is carrying Israel in the wake of October 7th.

Shlomo Zuckier presents Rav Aharon Lichtenstein's own thoughts on academic Talmud.

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?

The zogerke or firzogerin, once the vernacular translator in the women’s section of the synagogue, has faded into distant memory. Dalia Wolfson reimagines her for our times.