Talmud and Halakhah

Chaim Saiman analyzes how the Torah's two introductions to the revelation at Sinai correspond to two perspectives on the nature of halakhic civil law.

David Fried explores the humra of pat Yisrael during the aseret yemei teshuvah.

Ari Elias-Bachrach explores the science behind lab-produced meat and cheese and the possibility of a realistic kosher cheeseburger.

Moshe Kurtz looks as discomfort as a factor in Halakha

In this personal reflection, Phil Lieberman addresses the unique pain that accompanies the loss of an abusive parent and considers the uneasy coherence of this pain with Jewish traditions of mourning.

Yosef Lindell examines how Yehudah ha-Levi's kinnah about the bubbling blood of Zechariah modifies the story found in Talmudic sources and thus tackles the question of theodicy.

Shira Hecht-Koller Earlier this year, Apple released the iPhone X. When the first iPhone was released in 2007, I was completing my second year of...

Chaim Trachtman explores the relationship between moral instincts and rational thinking in Rabbinic Psychology.

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

In its opening verses, Parshat Shoftim describes a judicial system that enshrines pursuing Tzedek, or justice, as a core value. Benjamin Barer unpacks a Gemara in Sanhedrin that provides three distinct conceptions of the obligation to pursue justice, suggesting how we might build a more sacred society.