Humor… Me? Rabbinic Wordplay, Playing on Rabbinics

Daniel Shlian explores instances of pun usage in Jewish text.

Aggadic Men: Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks’s References to Rabbi Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel

In honor of the yahrtzeits of Rabbis Jonathan Sacks and Abraham Joshua Heschel, we present Steven Gotlib's study of Rabbi Sacks's complicated engagement with the scholarship and religious worldview of Rabbi Heschel.

Hearing the Shofar with Korah’s Children

In this winning essay of the Ateret Zvi Prize, Dr. Ethan Schwartz analyzes the Yamim Nora'im experience and interpretations of what happened to Korah's children.

What Avram and Sarai Taught the World Zionist Congress: An Orthographic Exploration of Parashat...

Following the World Zionist Congress, Gabriel Slamovits reflects on the significance of the event and how the journey of Avraham and Sarah in Parshat Lech Lecha informs the future.

“That Your Slave May Rest With You” – Rethinking Oneg Shabbat

In this piece, Shimi Kaufman considers ways of interpreting the intentions surrounding the enjoyment of Shabbat.

A Window into the Kabbalistic Soul: “Heilek Elo’ah Mi-ma’al” From Job to Tanya

Tanya's description of the Godly soul as a literal portion of divinity is an empowering notion for many spiritual seekers. It is also, however, inconsistent with longstanding Jewish theological doctrine regarding the unity of God. Elisha Price examines several possible interpretations of Tanya's words, placing them in a broader kabbalistic and rabbinic context, to suggest that Chabad's conception of the soul is both "rational and precedented."

Parshat Vayishlach: Rabin, Rachel, Rains and Retzach: How an untranslatable word shaped Judaism and...

In the anniversary month of Yitzchak Rabin's assassination, Aton Holzer considers definitions and perspectives of who is a killer and what it means to kill.

The Laws of Asmakhta Are Already Written in Our Hearts

Yonah Lavery-Yisraeli explores the relationship between the Talmudic term of "asmakhta" and the way we view our past, present, and future.

Modern Men of Faith: Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks’s Critique of Rabbi Dr. Joseph B....

In honor of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’s fifth yahrtzeit, we present Steven Gotlib's study of Rabbi Sacks's longstanding criticism of the religious worldview of Rabbi Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik.

Legal Fictions II: A Narrative Reflection on Shekalim 6:2 

As part of his Legal Fictions creative project, Dovid Campbell reimagines the content of Mishna Shekalim 6:2 in an evocative narrative of disability and Temple service.