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.
Who Will Defend Maimonides? Rav Soloveitchik on the Mishneh Torah and the Guide
With the aid of some new primary sources, David Curwin offers a fresh view of the Rav's embrace of Rambam and his most important writings.
Rekindling the Holy Fire: Fighting over Faith in the Aish Kodesh
In his newest review, former Lehrhaus webmaster Steve Gotlib looks at Hasidim, Suffering and Renewal: The Prewar and Holocaust Legacy of Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira and examines scholars’ differing views on whether the Aish Kodesh experienced a crisis of faith due to the Holocaust.
The Problem of Mosaic Authorship You Never Heard of: What is Parashat Bilam?
The Talmud speaks of a mysterious passage on Bilam authored by Moses. What is it?
Manna as a “Detox Diet”: On Rav Mendel of Rymanov’s Segulah for Parnassah
Lehrhaus Founding and Consulting Editor Elli Fischer on why R. Mendel of Rimanov is said to have spoken about the man every Shabbat for 22 consecutive years, and why reciting parshat ha-man the Tuesday before Parshat Beshalah might not be a segulah for parnasa, but R. Mendel's exhortation to be content with our lot.
Ahron Marcus: The Leading Hasidic, Zionist, Scholar of Ancient Judaism You Never Heard of
Who's the Pioneer of Hasidic Literature, Most Important Zionist, and Defender of the Masorah? Shlomo Zuckier explores Ahron Marcus' legacy.
Rack Up Those Mitzvot!
When we boil matters down to their essence, what is the underlying difference between a yeshivish and centrist Orthodox worldview? Tzvi Goldstein argues that it’s not Torah Umada, Zionism, or women’s roles; these are all symptomatic of a deeper debate about this world and the World to Come.
Neo-Hasidism and its Discontents
In his latest for Lehrhaus, Steven Gotlib considers Neo-Hasidism’s continued inroads into Orthodox thought and practice in his review of Contemporary Uses and Forms of Hasidut, the Orthodox Forum volume edited by Shlomo Zuckier.
On Religious Jewish Counterculture in Translation
Avinoam Stillman argues that the uniqueness of Yaakov Nagen's newly-translated book lies in its eclecticism and down-to-earth relevance to everyday life.
Putting the Mar Back in Marheshvan
Shlomo Zuckier takes on the Mr. Cheshvan culture industry.
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