Halakhah’s Insiders and Outsiders
Shmuel Hain Reviews Chaim Saiman's Halakhah: The Rabbinic Idea of Law.
When Rambam Met the Izhbitser Rebbe: Response to a Straussian Reading of Hilkhot Teshuvah
Bezalel Naor responds to Bezalel Safran's Straussian reading of the Rambam.
Jonah and the Varieties of Religious Motivation
David Bashevkin articulates a religious educator’s perspective on why people become religious
Secular Music and the Jewish Soul
The Talmud criticizes the heretic Elisha ben Avuyah, or Aher, for listening to Greek music. But what did he do wrong? Todd Berman uses a close reading of Rashi’s comments on the Talmudic passage to explain.
Cutting a Peace: The Story of Ketiah bar Shalom
Shlomo Zuckier offers a close literary reading of the fascinating Ketia bar Shalom narrative on Avodah Zarah 10b!
The Christian Monks Who Saved Jewish History
Malka Simkovich hunts for Jewish texts in some unlikely places.
A Kinnah in Kislev: The Enduring Elegy of Dolce of Worms
In honor of the yahrtzeit of Dolce, the wife of Rabbi Eleazar of Worms, Chaya Sima Koenigsberg explores Rabbi Eleazar's moving elegy for his wife and reflects upon Dolce's character as a model for Koenigsberg's own life and the lives of Jewish women today.
Letters to the Editor: Responses to Michael Broyde on Abortion
Two letters to the editor provide alternative perspectives on the question of what Jewish law wants American abortion law to be.
“For These Things I Weep”: Psychological Readings of Lamentations
In time for Tisha Be-Av, Marc Eichenbaum offers a meaningful new reading of Eikha using modern psychological concepts like grief, trauma, and narrative construction.
Is Liberal Zionism Dead?
Steven Gotlib reviews Shaul Magid’s new, provocative book about a contemplated “counter-Zionist” future for Israel.
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