Scholarship

David Curwin explores the evidence that Jacob may have made a fatal mistake in not conquering Canaan upon returning.

Tzvi Sinensky responds to Lawrence Kaplan and continues the discussion on Mendelssohn and Jewish law.

Sarah Zager puts #MeToo in conversation with the Talmudic discussion of the death penalty.

Aton Holzer offers a novel interpretation of Isaiah 53 based on current events in Israel.

Malka Simkovich on the Hasmonean victories and the truth behind the Hanukkah miracle.

Gavriel Lakser argues that the first two chapter of Genesis give us different insights into the character of God. The first chapter shows us a transcendent and omnipotent God, while the second shows us a God much more imminent and concerned for the lives of the creation. These two aspects are complimentary and mutually deepens our understanding of the human-God relationship.

Ethan Schwartz reviews Yitchak Etshalom’s new volume on the prophet Amos, considering ways in which the author succeeds and fails to recreate the divine roar of Amos’ message.

Rami Reiner breaks new ground, analyzing Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein's view of academic Jewish studies.

In her winning Ateret Zvi essay, Leah Sarna explores two simultaneously true stories about pregnancy: it is at once a beautiful, incredible miracle, and also a demanding journey, both physically and mentally, that often feels more like a catastrophe. Studying the Torah's accounts of pregnancy in Tazria and Rivkah's life, Sarna offers a moving analysis of what it means to hear, tell, and live these stories.

Post-pandemic proposals to omit hazarat ha-shatz on a permanent basis have been soundly rejected by halakhic authorities. Is this due exclusively to halakhic considerations, or are additional factors at play? Yosie Levine contends that Ashkenazic rabbinic opposition to 19th-century attempts to eliminate hazarat ha-shatz may still be shaping halakhic discourse today.