Scholarship

Zach Truboff looks at the miracle of the Hanukkah oil through the lens of Franz Rosenzweig and emphasizes the importance of the belief in miracles for a meaningful religiosity.

What theological language can we use to describe our current pandemic moment? In an excerpt from his forthcoming book, Jeremy Brown takes scope of the ancient and modern notions of plague theodicy and reviews some ideas from the 2021 National Jewish Book Award Winner Torah in a Time of Plague.

Ike Sultan A. The Question One of the new gadgets that has become popular over the last few years is the smartwatch; a popular brand at...

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.

Amitai Bin-Nun provides a fresh and intriguing perspective on the story of the Golden Calf by reading it in light of the Talmudic passage in Menahot detailing an encounter between Moses and R. Akiba on Mt. Sinai where God is tying crowns to the letters of the Torah scroll.

Yaakov Jaffe explores four themes of Psalm 24 as recited on the second day of Rosh Hashanah.

Victor M. Erlich expounds on the meaning of the word "Leviathan."

Ezra Zuckerman Sivan examines the significance of the six barleys that Boaz gives Ruth in light of the story of Rachel, Leah, and the duda'im.

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

Chesky Kopel looks at the various tellings and retellings of the controversial deal that Rudolph Kastner made with Nazi leadership in Budapest and argues that they represent a modern-day Midrashic presentation of the history.