Jewish Thought and History

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.

Marina Zilbergerts presents the philosophical questions posed by Chaim Grade's “My Quarrel with Hersh Rasseyner,” and compares his arguments to those of other major thinkers such as Voltaire, Rousseau, Dostoevsky, and Nietzsche.

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

Alex Ozar catalogues types of truthfulness in rabbinic literature.

Michah Gottlieb reflects on the recent discussion on biblical scholarship and its implications for Orthodox Jews, in light of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch's writings. 

Malka Simkovich hunts for Jewish texts in some unlikely places.

Steven Gotlib reviews Eugene Korn’s book on the future of Jewish-Christian relations.

Zev Eleff on a uniquely American Jewish "righteous commodity" Gedolim Cards

Historian Malka Simkovich explores ancient diasporic responses to collective trauma and what they can tell us about our responses to the aftermath of October 7th.

Leah Sarna addresses the perceived disconnect between the ideal Torah U-Madda lifestyle and the gendered reality of advanced Torah study for women.