Jewish Thought and History

Tragic events this past summer brought a wave of protests against racial injustice that shows few signs of abating. Yitzhak Grossman shares how rabbinic leaders in the United States and Israel have historically approached the tactic of protest, and explores what their views might mean for our current moment.

Yaakov Jaffe examines Yehudah Ha-Levi's High Holiday poem "Yashen, Al Teradam"

Eliav Grossman examines the Talmud's account of drinking on Purim, reading it as directed at Christian texts and traditions.

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

Herzl Hefter provides critical perspective on a stream of Akeidah interpretation from Kierkegaard to the Rav

In older times, Christian New Year’s Day celebrations were sometimes marked by antisemitic incidents. Although such days are behind us, Tzvi Sinensky recalls the antisemitic canard that Jewish men menstruated, a pervasive and disturbing myth that demeaned Jews and all women.

As 2022 comes to a close, the Lehrhaus team is proud to feature some highlights from our contributions this past year. Yet again, we have published at least one hundred original pieces across a wide variety of genres.

Zachary Truboff considers the experience of prayer, and what two recent publications on Tefillah emerging from the Religious Zionist community contribute.

Tzvi Sinensky explores the Talmudic version of the Roman myth of Narcissus

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.