Madda or Hokhmah? Rabbi Jonathan Sacks on the Integration of Torah and General Wisdom
In the next installment of our Torah u-Madda symposium, Dr. Erica Brown reflects on the concepts and values expressed by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt"l in his discussions on the integration of Torah and secular life.
One Life to Live: Torah u-Madda Today
Sarah Rindner contemplates whether Torah u-Madda as it’s sometimes interpreted can engender unreflective allegiance to trends in contemporary society that might harm our religious communities.
Torah u-Madda’s Moment
Stu Halpern weighs in on the eternal wisdom Torah u-Madda offers the world during the fraught times in which we live.
Torah u-Madda Thirty Years Later
Elana Stein Hain explores how the frameworks offered by the humanities can mesh with our Torah-driven lives.
Lo Yilbash and Gender Difference: A Rejoinder to Moshe Kurtz
Responding to yesterday’s article by Moshe Kurtz, Lehrhaus editor Tzvi Sinensky presents an alternative read of the Mitzvah of lo yilbash.
Cross-Dressing and Cross-Conduct: When Lo Yilbash Meets Contemporary Western Culture
Moshe Kurtz examines the Torah’s prohibition on cross-dressing as a lens to view the shifting contemporary gender norms.
Purim, Poverty, And Propriety—Three Talmudic Stories
Dan Ornstein explains how three Talmudic stories about mishloah manot and matanot le-evyonim on Purim can sensitize us to how to relate to the recipients of these gifts.
Esther, Feminist Ethics, and the Creation of Jewish Community
How can the mitzvot of Purim reveal the feminist ethics of the Megillah? Aton Holzer offers an enlightening new reading of the Megillah, suggesting that there is a profound connection between the text's structure and its ethics.
Revisiting Maimonides’s Merkavah Chapters
In this timely piece, David Fried analyzes Maimonides' explanation of the ma'aseh merkavah in light of the Talmud's strictures on its teaching outlined in Hagigah. Fried's analysis reveals how Maimonides changed course from the Aristotelianism that he posited at other points in his career.
Can we Transform the World? An Analysis of the Talmudic Messiah
Atara Cohen considers the theological implications of the Talmud’s surprising majority opinion as to how the Messiah will come.