Think Passover Guides are Getting Stricter? Think Again

Yosef Lindell offers a brief history of Pesah guides.

The Tragic Gap: Birkat Ha-Ilanot Amidst COVID-19

Shumel Hain discusses how we can bridge the "Tragic Gap" between the world envisioned in the blessing on budding fruit tress and our current reality of pandemic and tragedy

Contagious Disease, Moral Behavior, and Prayer: Bava Kama Today 

How did the Talmud look at plagues? Miriam Reisler offers a close reading of a key halakhic and narrative section of Bava Kama.

Who Knows? Jewish Leadership in Times of Uncertainty

"Who Knows" seems to have become a recurring question for so many of us. Erica Brown shares personal and biblical reflections on the meaning of this phrase for the age of coronavirus.

Punishment, Progress, Or Impossibility? Three Medieval Accounts of Exile

Jews have been confronting the concept of exile for thousands of years. How did Jewish thinkers respond to this phenomenon? @Michael Weiner outlines three medieval responses.

Social Distancing in the Rabbinic Tradition

Jeremy Brown discusses some remarkable Talmudic and historical precedents for social distancing during pandemics.

Incensed by Coronavirus: Prayer and Ketoret in Times of Epidemic

Dr. Eddie Reichman, an ER doctor on the front lines of fighting Coronavirus, and an expert in the history of halakhah and medicine, shares a unique perspective on history of combatting plagues in the Jewish tradition.

20/20 vision for hilkhot Shabbat: A Glance at Rav Yosef Zvi Rimon’s Newest Sefer

In our saturated environment, can any contemporary work on hilkhot Shabbat break new ground? Ezra Schwartz explains that Rav Rimon's newest work does precisely this.

Esther the Queen, Hester Prynne, and The Scarlet Letter as Biblical Commentary

Tzvi Sinensky explores the hidden world of Esther with the help of Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Purim and Paul: The Torah Veiled and Unveiled

What do Paul, Purim costumes, and Purim torah all have in common? Yehuda Fogel delves into the meaning of hiddenness and its role in revelation on Purim.