Some Thoughts on the Binding of Isaac
Jerome Marcus on the Akeidah: It's not about ethics vs. divine command, but about Hashem versus Elokim!
Aleinu and Genesis: Against the Twin Idolatries of Universalism & Ethnonationalism
Does the Torah support a universalist or ethnonationalist political orientation? In this timely essay, Ezra Zuckerman Sivan explores the meaning behind key stories in Genesis through the framework of the Aleinu prayer.
Re-reading Bereishit: A Review of David Fohrman’s New Book
Tammy Jacobowitz reviews David Forman's latest book, a companion to Sefer Bereishit, and finds engaging, instructive literary analysis that pulls new insights from familiar stories.
Abraham’s “Diminished” Weeping: An Orthographic Note Inspired by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Zt”l
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.
A Biblical Defense of Cities
Yehuda Goldberg explains how the Bible's depictions of the Tower of Babel and of Jerusalem teaches us about the risk and potential of cities.
Rabbeinu Bahya and the Case of the Mysterious Medieval Lightning Rod
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.
To Rebeccah
Aryeh Klapper recreating a patriarchal voice.
Rabbinic Creativity and the Waters that would Consume the World
Levi Morrow explores how the Rabbis use creative exegesis to save the world
from drowning in a flood
Shechem, Place Of Brit
This week's Parashah introduces us to the city of Shechem. Tamar Weissman examines the various appearances of this city throughout Tanakh, explaining that while it is a city of rupture, it is also one of covenant and fraternity.
Surrender or Struggle? The Akeidah Reconsidered
Herzl Hefter provides critical perspective on a stream of Akeidah interpretation from Kierkegaard to the Rav