Scholarship

In this thought-provoking piece, Aharon Frazer traces the approach to power and privilege in the Torah from Genesis through Deuteronomy, and offers a framework for the ethical use of power in our own times.

When Synagogues Reopen, May the Congregation Permit a Bar Mitzvah Boy to Make Up His Torah Reading? Moshe Kurtz weighs in.

Joshua Stadlan carefully explores the “blemishes” that invalidate a kohein for service in the Mishkan to argue that they were not an original part of God’s plan.

Francis Nataf explores Malbim’s sophisticated engagement with Kantian ethics.

After six months suspended between quarantine, isolation, and uncertainty, it’s natural to want to run away from home, especially as Yom Kippur looms and we realize it’s time for a change. But, as Matthew Nitzanim explains, this understandable reaction would miss the point of Teshuvah: everything we need to work on is right here, wherever it is we find ourselves.

Ranana Dine compares Christian and Jewish views on the value of having a beautiful Temple.

Our modern Shabbat experience has been called "a taste of the world to come." But was this the case for the first Shabbat in the desert? Ezra Zuckerman Sivan considers the question.

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.

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

In this review of a new book by Aryeh Solomon, Ilan Fuchs explores how for the Lubavitcher Rebbe, teaching and learning are a sacred calling leading toward spiritual growth.