What Could (and Couldn’t) the Rabbis Do?
What sort of powers did Hazal have in the first century? Ari Lamm wonders.
Don’t Forget David’s Literary Temple! A Rebuttal to Levi Morrow
Harvard Professor Jon Levenson weighs in on what stops the floodwaters:
rabbinic creativity or the Temple!
The Duality of Kisuy Ha-Dam
I. Introduction: The Puzzle of Vayikra 17
The mitzvah of kisuy ha-dam, the commandment to cover the blood of a slaughtered bird or wild animal,...
Avot 5:6: The Mouth of Korah’s Earth and the 2nd Edition of the...
We only rarely have the opportunity to compare and analyze instances where a rabbi or scholar changed his interpretation over time, yet R. Yom Tov Lipman Heller published his Mishnah commentary, Tosafot Yom Tov, twice in his lifetime. Yaakov Jaffe examines the evolution of R. Heller's interpretation of the term “the Mouth of the Earth” in Pirkei Avot.
Halakhah and Social Change
A response to Yosef Bronstein's study on Halakhah's engagement with societal norms
These and Those … But Definitely not Those!
In response to Tzvi Sinensky's earlier essay, Andrew Bennett presents Jewish legal scholar Robert Cover's and noted antisemite Carl Schmitt's thoughts on elu ve-elu.
Three Sonnets
Jeffrey Burghauser's three poems draw on the biblical and rabbinic imagination.
Translating Theory into Practice to Revolutionize the Teaching of Talmud
Yaakov Bieler continues the conversation on Talmud education, introducing "action research" to the discussion.
From Lawlessness to Respectability: A Response to Eli Putterman
Lawrence Kaplan responds to Eli Putterman's essay on Reish Laqish and sexuality.
Site Operations and Technology by The Berman Consulting Group.