If Your Wife Is Short, Bend Down and Hear Her Whisper: Rereading Tanur shel...
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...
Voices from Outside the Cave: Women and the Story of Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai
Kate Rozansky explores the life of Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai through the prism of the women in his life.
Pinhas’ Parts: Of Priests, Peace, and Disturbing the Piece
What was the covenant of peace God gave Pinchas? R. Shlomo Zuckier puts the pieces together to find out
To Be a Stiff-Necked People
Is Jewish stubbornness a stereotype or a source of pride? In the Torah, it appears as a criticism, but also as a veiled praise for the people of Israel’s unique power of commitment. Zach Truboff highlights this strength in an application of the words of the Piaseczner Rebbe to our current moment of crisis.
Mind Blown: Shofar as Divine Encounter Beyond the Limits of Human Comprehension
Aton Holzer explores the inscrutability of the Mitzvah of Shofar.
Loyal As A Dog: How to Read “Jewish Art”
Marc Michael Epstein explores the nature of animal motifs in medieval Jewish manuscripts.
Mishnah with Meaning: Review of The Soul of the Mishna by Yakov Nagen
Yakov Nagen's Soul of the Mishna contains a wealth of readings that combine academic, literary, and spiritual perspectives on the Mishnah, writes Richard Hidary. Read the full review of the book, now accessible to an English-speaking audience, in our latest at the Lehrhaus.
Purim, Poverty, And Propriety—Three Talmudic Stories
Dan Ornstein explains how three Talmudic stories about mishloah manot and matanot le-evyonim on Purim can sensitize us to how to relate to the recipients of these gifts.
Secular Music and the Jewish Soul
The Talmud criticizes the heretic Elisha ben Avuyah, or Aher, for listening to Greek music. But what did he do wrong? Todd Berman uses a close reading of Rashi’s comments on the Talmudic passage to explain.
Return… Again? Theories of Twice-Baked Teshuvah
Lehrhaus founder Shlomo Zuckier examines the debate about whether we can repeat Teshuvah for the same sin.
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