Scholarship

In his latest for the Lehrhaus, Aton Holzer sheds light on the hidden roots of Hanukkah–exploring the political and theological meaning of the holiday from the Second Temple period through the Talmud.

Do Jewish texts teach racism? It depends on how you read them, answers Chaim Trachtman.

This siddur, Yaakov Jaffe argues, is where to look to find out what Orthodox Jews believe.

Zackary Sholem Berger Reviews Rabbi Jason Weiner's Jewish Guide to Practical Medical Decision Making.

Daniel A. Klein reviews a new book on Hebrew by Mitchell First.

Historian Jonathan Sarna places a recent decision by an Orthodox synagogue to modify the "prayer for the government" into sharp historical focus.

Eli Genauer explores the profound impact of a printing error on the halakhot of Pesah.

Tzvi Goldstein's recent piece on Centrist and Haredi Orthodoxy has generated many responses from our readers. Today we share a response from Chaim Goldberg, who vigorously argues that the greatest pillar for contemporary Haredi ideology is not Ramhal's Mesilat Yesharim but Rav Hayyim Volozhin's Nefesh Ha-Hayyim.

Mitchell First explains the difference in the wording of the tenth commandment in Exodus and Deutoronomy in light of a grammatical insight by Benno Jacob.

Leah Sarna contributes to the Lehrhaus Symposium on the recent OU statement regarding female clergy.