Talmud and Halakhah

Special for Sukkot, we are honored to publish this piece by Rav Nahum Rabinovitch zz"l, appearing first the first time in print. Special thanks to Elli Fischer for translating and Koren for permission to publish.

In their latest for the Lehrhaus, Aryeh and Penina Dienstag study Talmudic narratives that balance the tension between sexual asceticism and pleasure through an overlooked literary motif: angels.

Shmuel Klitsner's insider perspectives on making a Hanukkah classic.

Moshe Koppel Reviews Chaim Saiman's Halakhah: The Rabbinic Idea of Law.

Yaakov Jaffe explores a common synagogue practice, and why it doesn't seem so halakhic. minyan,

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.

Jeffrey Fox examines whether watching football is problematic from a Torah point of view.

Steven Gotlib reviews Eugene Korn’s To Be a Holy People: Jewish Tradition and Ethical Values, a book which asks hard questions about whether Halakhah can integrate with the demands of contemporary ethics.

Moshe Kurtz looks as discomfort as a factor in Halakha

Noah Gradofsky explores sources about a pregnant Sotah and their relevance for Jewish abortion ethics.