From Lawlessness to Respectability: A Response to Eli Putterman
Lawrence Kaplan responds to Eli Putterman's essay on Reish Laqish and sexuality.
Wanted: Precision, Nuance, and Avodat Hashem
Jeffrey Woolf contributes to the Lehrhaus Symposium on the recent OU statement regarding female clergy.
How to Feel “Sight Damage”: A Case Study on Sensory Imagination and Halakhic Understanding
Yonah Lavery-Yisraeli offers a careful examination of an enigmatic discussion in the Shulhan Arukh’s laws on neighborly relations. She demonstrates how “radical presence” and attention to sensory details is an essential strategy for halakhic decision-making.
Pesah as Zeman Simhateinu: What Does it Mean to Rejoice Over Victory?
Judah Kerbel discusses why we say an abbreviated Hallel on the last six days of Pesah and contemplates what that says about the war in Israel; self-defense is a must, as is gratitude toward God, but we also hold space for the losses on the other side.
What is Yerushalmi Shekalim Doing in the Babylonian Talmud?
As Daf Yomi learners begin studying Shekalim, Tamara Morsel-Eisenberg offers an erudite answer to the question: What is Yerushalmi Shekalim doing in the Babylonian Talmud?
Was the Sotah Meant to be Innocent?
For Parshat Naso, Lehrhaus editor Yosef Lindell compares three twentieth-century rereadings of the Sotah ritual that make the passage more palatable to modern audiences.
An Alternate View on Rav Aharon Lichtenstein and Academic Talmud Study
Lawrence Kaplan
In his recent Lehrhaus essay “Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein and Academic Talmud Study,” Professor Avraham (Rami) Reiner proves himself to be a genuine disciple...
“Justice has not Been Done”: Officer Immunity and Accountability in Jewish Law (Part 2)
David Polsky meticulously explores officer immunity in Halakha and compares it with the American legal standard of qualified immunity.
“She Should Carry Out All Her Deeds According to His Directives:” A Halakhah in...
Does the Rambam means what he says about gender relations? Yosef Bronstein surveys the intellectual landscape.
Reading and Seeing Child Marriage in the Talmud
Yonah Lavery-Yisraeli offers a novel interpretation of the Talmudic sugya of miun that offers profound insight into how the Rabbis dealt with the problem of child sexual abuse.