Talmud and Halakhah

What does the Torah mean when it says to "guard your nefesh (soul)"? Lehrhaus editor David Fried reevaluates the common understanding of a Torah mandate for healthy living.

Shmuel Hain comments on the leap year parshah-gap between Israel and the Diaspora.

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

Shmuel Winiarz contributes to the Lehrhaus Symposium on the recent OU statement regarding female clergy.

Can Halakhah really countenance euthanasia? Alan Jotkowitz responds to Leead Staller

It is customary to celebrate Tu Bi-Shevat by eating fruits and reciting the She-Hehiyanu blessing on them. This custom, however, has proved challenging in recent years as advances in technology have made it difficult to find new fruit—as defined by halakhah—to say the She-Hehiyanu

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 these difficult times for Israel, Aharon Frazer of Alon Shvut is thinking about the fundamental sanctity of human life and the long game. Can war and weapons really take us toward the messianic age?

Miriam Gedwiser Sometimes, returning to a familiar text uncovers something new. In this essay, I hope to reexamine the story of the Oven of Akhnai...

Are today's rabbis allowed to initiate new prohibitions? Aryeh Klapper analyzes a responsum on the issue of halakhic innovation regarding new technologies.