Scholarship

Mark Glass explores the implications of a little-known interpretation in which Lot's wife never turned to salt.

Does the Torah support a universalist or ethnonationalist political orientation? In this timely essay, Ezra Zuckerman Sivan explores the meaning behind key stories in Genesis through the framework of the Aleinu prayer.

Tragic events this past summer brought a wave of protests against racial injustice that shows few signs of abating. Yitzhak Grossman shares how rabbinic leaders in the United States and Israel have historically approached the tactic of protest, and explores what their views might mean for our current moment.

Yehuda Goldberg explains how the Bible's depictions of the Tower of Babel and of Jerusalem teaches us about the risk and potential of cities.

Marking the centennial year since the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Melissa Klapper explores Jewish women's participation in the suffrage movement and the response to women's suffrage across sectors of the Jewish community.

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.

David Silverstein explores Rabbi Nachum Rabinovich’s approach to Aveirah Li-Shmah and how this relates to his broader concept of autonomy as a halakhic value.

Daniel Goldberg examines how four versions of a Midrash about Shemini Atzeret reflect different aspects of the Jewish people's relationship with God.

Special for Sukkot, we are honored to publish this piece by Rav Nahum Rabinovitch zz"l, appearing first the first time in print. Special thanks to Elli Fischer for translating and Koren for permission to publish.

This year, instead of thinking about the reasons for Jonah’s flight from Nineveh in particular, we can gain a new appreciation for his need to break free altogether. Ahead of Yom Kippur, Erica Brown considers the unique resonance of the book of Jonah in an era marked by isolation and quarantine.