Scholarship

Yisrael Kashkin and Jeffrey Saks provide a timeline for the Rav's American arrival.

In the spirit of Hanukkah, Yaakov Jaffe offers an intriguing thesis tying together a series of Mishnayot in the fourth chapter of Pirkei Avot: they are all responding to various aspects of Epicurean philosophy.

Martin Lockshin reviews the Jewish Publication Society’s latest Bible translation, the JPS Tanakh: Gender-Sensitive Edition.

Chesky Kopel analyzes an early Zionist text to give insight into Jewish reactions to the Armenian genocide.

Can we learn Torah from Star Wars, superheroes, or the hit Netflix show ‘The Crown’? Olivia Friedman, a teacher at Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Chicago, says yes, arguing that bringing pop culture into the Judaic studies classroom in a meaningful way not only makes learning more fun, but models the type of integration that Modern Orthodoxy stands for.

What do Adam, Enkidu, and Reish Lakish all have in common? Eli Putterman explores.

Did the Founding Fathers study Kabbalah? Yisroel Ben-Porat reviews Brian Ogren’s new book Kabbalah and the Founding of America.

The Hasidic work, Aish Kodesh, under the scholarly microscope, by Henry Abramson.

Mark Glass puts the Akeidah in conversation with the surrounding narratives of the book of Genesis.

How can we respond to a Seder during which it is prohibited to host guests? Yitzchak Etshalom and David Block each offer unique tefillot to be recited at our Seder table this year.