Scholarship

What theological language can we use to describe our current pandemic moment? In an excerpt from his forthcoming book, Jeremy Brown takes scope of the ancient and modern notions of plague theodicy and reviews some ideas from the 2021 National Jewish Book Award Winner Torah in a Time of Plague.

Eliezer Finkelman discusses the meaning of perfect repentance.

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.

Dan Jutan locates a fascinating meta-narrative within Rashi's commentary.

Avi Killip explores three Talmudic stories dealing with the feelings of discomfort that can be involved in helping the poor, even when we know it’s the right thing to do.

Jennie Rosenfeld reviews David Bashevkin's "Sin-a-gogue: Sin and Failure in Jewish Thought."

Zvi Grumet reviews Aaron Koller’s new book on the Akedah and evaluates his surprisingly novel approach to this formative biblical story.

Rena Kosowsky compares the treatment of sexual assault in the Bible and the Talmud, and explores the implications of what that means for how we should address it today.

In this piece, Rabbi Dvir Cahana and Rabbanit Shalhevet Cahana illustrate different methods of relating halakha and aggadah in Talmudic analysis through the lens of the Talmudic narrative of the Oven of Akhnai.

Is God revealed through our speech? In his review of Ariel Evan Mayse’s Speaking Infinities, Steven Gotlib explores this question in the thought of the Maggid of Mezritch.