Humash

Whose idea was Sinai? A midrash contends that Sinai was first conceived by Jethro. Ezra Zuckerman Sivan supports this Midrash from the Torah's text, and explains why Jethro was the appropriate vehicle for providing the rationale of Sinai.

The biblical account of the holiday we refer to as Shavuot bears no relationship at all to the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. The emergence of the association between this harvest festival and the Sinai covenant has therefore occupied both traditional and academic thinkers for centuries. Tzvika Aviv argues for a previously unexplored approach to the question, one which bridges the mystical insights of the Zohar with current scientific knowledge regarding wheat genetics.

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,...

David Curwin “Ahavah mekalkelet et ha-shurah.” — Bereishit Rabbah 55:8 The sages used the above phrase “love bends the line” to describe Abraham’s actions before the akeidah:...

Michael Kurin analyzes the building and existence of the Mishkan as a form of spiritual redemption for the mistakes which took place in the Garden of Eden.

In this essay, Yaakov Taubes explores and elucidates methods of dividing the Humash into sections, and analyzes their significance -- particularly through the lens of Parshat Mishpatim.

In this essay, Aviva Lauer analyzes the Biblical prohibition against cutting down fruit trees in wartime, and connects it to messages about human dignity.

The propriety of celebrating the downfall of enemies presents a complex web of questions and seemingly contradictory Jewish texts. Michael Kurin makes sense of this subject and proposes a framework for applying it to matters of Israeli public policy.

Malka Simkovich compares the narratives of Noah and Lot, and the ways their stories trigger the beginnings of rival nations of Bnei Yisrael.

In this winning essay of the Ateret Zvi Prize, Dr. Ethan Schwartz analyzes the Yamim Nora'im experience and interpretations of what happened to Korah's children.