Bilam, God, and the Silent and Slanted Spaces
For Eve Grubin, Bilam's hidden messages is a lesson for the Torah and for life.
The Problem of Mosaic Authorship You Never Heard of: What is Parashat Bilam?
The Talmud speaks of a mysterious passage on Bilam authored by Moses. What is it?
On the Importance of the Twentieth of Iyar
Ezra Sivan uncovers hidden meaning in what happened and didn't happen during the Israelites' journey in the wilderness.
Death by the Sword: What Makes Balaam so Wicked?
Daniel Brauner analyzes the character of Balaam -- specifically, why Balaam is considered so wicked in the eyes of Chazal.
A Mathematical Reevaluation of the Prohibition on Counting Jews
Mark Glass
I.
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away. …
Growing up, that’s how the gabba’im of my youth minyan would determine if...
Incensed by Coronavirus: Prayer and Ketoret in Times of Epidemic
Dr. Eddie Reichman, an ER doctor on the front lines of fighting Coronavirus, and an expert in the history of halakhah and medicine, shares a unique perspective on history of combatting plagues in the Jewish tradition.
The Triple Threat to Social Order
Through the lens of social science and game theory, Ezra Zuckerman Sivan connects three stories in Tanakh of people who threatened the social order: the blasphemer, the wood-gatherer, and Achan.
Was the Sotah Meant to be Innocent?
For Parshat Naso, Lehrhaus editor Yosef Lindell compares three twentieth-century rereadings of the Sotah ritual that make the passage more palatable to modern audiences.
The Power of Secrets: Jacob, Laban, and the Passover Haggadah
What led the Rabbis of the Seder to present Laban as a more diabolical enemy of the Jews than Pharaoh? Erica Brown shows how Laban took advantage of Jacob's insecurities as he arrived empty-handed at Laban's home.
The Nazir and the Priest
Yoni Nouriel examines an episode in the Talmud where Shimon Ha-Tzadik describes his encounter with an impure Nazir.
Site Operations and Technology by The Berman Consulting Group.