Jewish Thought and History

In commemoration of the upcoming Sheloshim of Rav Moshe Kahn, Mindy Schwartz Zolty shares a Hesped of her teacher in which she discusses his derekh ha-limmud and his derekh as a melamed.

Rabbi David Wolkenfeld explores the meaning of faith in this review of Rabbi Chaim Jachter's Reason to Believe

Ezra Sivan probes the Sabbath and the Torah's call to love God.

Jeremy Tibbetts explores Hitbodedut in the thought of Rav Shagar and Rav Elchanan Nir, two contemporary Israeli thinkers.

Yisroel Ben-Porat offers historical, hashkafic, and personal reflections on what’s often called the “Judeo-Christian” tradition and whether a Torah u-Madda outlook can embrace the study of Christianity.

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

Rebecca Cypess considers the life and work of the Italian Jewish Renaissance composer Salamone Rossi, his rabbinic supporter Leon Modena, and the controversies over 17th century polyphonic music in the synagogue.

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.

What sort of powers did Hazal have in the first century? Ari Lamm wonders.

In this timely piece, David Fried analyzes Maimonides' explanation of the ma'aseh merkavah in light of the Talmud's strictures on its teaching outlined in Hagigah. Fried's analysis reveals how Maimonides changed course from the Aristotelianism that he posited at other points in his career.