Jewish Thought and History

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

Hasdai Crescas criticized Maimonides for counting belief as a Mitzvah, arguing that we have no control over what we believe. Dovid Campbell explores a surprisingly common defense of Maimonides that places his views closer to those of Crescas than we might have initially imagined.

Bezalel Naor translates and contextualizes a poem by Pinchas Peli about the home of Rav Kook.

Zev Eleff on an endangered species, the so-called Non-Observant Orthodox Jew.

Tzvi Goldstein's recent piece on Centrist and Haredi Orthodoxy has generated many responses from our readers. Today we share a response from Chaim Goldberg, who vigorously argues that the greatest pillar for contemporary Haredi ideology is not Ramhal's Mesilat Yesharim but Rav Hayyim Volozhin's Nefesh Ha-Hayyim.

Tzvi Sinensky on the lost Menorah, the Vatican theory, and the ideology of the search and mythology.

William Gewirtz continues to offer his thoughts on the meaning of bein ha-shemashot.

Is the Mishnah racist? To answer the question, begs Elli Fischer, is to get a better understanding of both Judaism and Race

In the next installment of our Torah u-Madda symposium, Dr. Erica Brown reflects on the concepts and values expressed by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt"l in his discussions on the integration of Torah and secular life.

In introducing his embrace of Rav Shagar, Rabbi Dr. Gil Perl details his personal journey of being initially excited, then disappointed with the writings of our...