Jewish Thought and History

In his latest for the Lehrhaus, Aton Holzer sheds light on the hidden roots of Hanukkah–exploring the political and theological meaning of the holiday from the Second Temple period through the Talmud.

The Talmud speaks of a mysterious passage on Bilam authored by Moses. What is it?

Zev Eleff and Menachem Butler explore the reception of Moses Mendelssohn in American Orthodox Judaism, focusing on a curious commotion surrounding the bicentennial of Mendelssohn's death

Shlomo Spivack discusses the anti-spirituality of his teacher, Rav Menachem Froman.

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.

Yaakov Jaffe traces the origins and evolution of the custom to shake the lulav in different directions.

Jewishness, antisemitism, popular culture and Russian television in the postwar era? Historian Maya Balakirsky Katz explains.

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

Our traditional longing for the rebuilding of the Beit Ha-Mikdash elides uncomfortable questions about the dramatic differences between sacrificial worship and our current models of serving God. Meir Kraus argues that the time has come to engage in this difficult conversation, especially in light of the growing religious-political movement to restore Jewish presence on the Temple Mount. Kraus also proposes an “alternative vision” for a future Temple era.

Yaakov Taubes explores the background to Maimonides’s explanation for how the Mishnah is ordered.