The Odds of Orthodoxy
Steven Gotlib reviews Sam Leben’s book A Guide for the Jewish Undecided: A Philosopher Makes the Case for Orthodox Judaism.
The Zogerke’s Vort
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.
There Are No Lights in War: We Need a Different Religious Language
A growing list of dati le’umi leaders and thinkers frame war as a desirable state and even an opportunity for spiritual elevation. Religious Israeli activist Ariel Shwartz traces this trend with alarm and argues that it contradicts deep-rooted Torah values. Translated by Mordechai Blau.
Was the Sotah Meant to be Innocent?
For Parshat Naso, Lehrhaus editor Yosef Lindell compares three twentieth-century rereadings of the Sotah ritual that make the passage more palatable to modern audiences.
The Invention of Jewish Theocracy: A Review of Alexander Kaye’s New Book
What motivated the first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rav Herzog, to work tirelessly on the seemingly quixotic project of running the modern State of Israel on the basis of Halakhah? Reviewing Alexandar Kaye's new book on the subject, Rabbi Shalom Carmy explains.
Leavings of Sin: Rav Aharon Lichtenstein on Teshuvah
Shlomo Zuckier reviews Rav Aharon Lichtenstein's just-released book on teshuvah
The Anti-Spiritual Rabbi: A Student’s Perspective
Shlomo Spivack discusses the anti-spirituality of his teacher, Rav Menachem Froman.
Maimonidean Providence & Stoicism
Ariel Krakowski explores the connection between Maimonides and the Stoics.
The Yom Kippur War and Yeshivat Har Etzion: Letters from a Talmid
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, published here are excerpts from letters of an American student studying in Israel in 1973. These letters, written during and immediately after the war, shed light on Yeshivat Har Etzion in its formative years and the lasting impact of the Yom Kippur War.
No Rest for the Weary? Ambiguity in Yehudah Halevi’s “Yom Shabbaton”
Yaakov Jaffe analyzes the multiple meanings of a medieval Jewish poem and popular Shabbat table song.
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