Bereishit

Isaac occupies the middle position among the three Patriarchs. Gavriel Lakser offers a novel reading of his character that portrays Isaac as a uniquely relatable figure for our times.

Did Rabbeinu Bahya mention a lightning rod centuries before it was discovered? Yaakov Taubes takes us on a journey through science, magic, and religion to help explain this medieval commentator’s cryptic comment about the Tower of Babel.

Yitzchak Etshalom comments on the relationship between Lavan and Yaakov.

There’s a miniature kaf at the beginning of the parashah. As Gabriel Slamovits explains, what the diminished letter says about how Abraham mourned for Sarah fits well with a prominent teaching of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, zt”l.

The father heard the voice of God, Elli Fischer explains, but the son ends up with the blade on his neck.

Jordan Soffer examines the two narratives of Calev and Yitro through a lens of effective community leadership.

Following the World Zionist Congress, Gabriel Slamovits reflects on the significance of the event and how the journey of Avraham and Sarah in Parshat Lech Lecha informs the future.

Meshulam Gotlieb analyzes a midrash on Jacob's ladder dream to understand Jacob's lifelong fear, how he became so fearful and how it affected his life.

Mark Glass puts the Akeidah in conversation with the surrounding narratives of the book of Genesis.

Eileen Watts examines the similarities between Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Rav Soloveitchik's Lonely Man of Faith.