Humash

Gavriel Lakser argues that the first two chapter of Genesis give us different insights into the character of God. The first chapter shows us a transcendent and omnipotent God, while the second shows us a God much more imminent and concerned for the lives of the creation. These two aspects are complimentary and mutually deepens our understanding of the human-God relationship.

Shlomo Zuckier wonders why the earth opened its mouth for both Korah and Kayin.

Miriam Gedwiser explains how the Rabbis of the Talmud put the law of yefat to'ar in conversation with the David narrative, and what this teaches us about how we should approach passages of this nature.

Laurance Wieder's After Adam was named the Book of the Year in 2019 by First Thing's John Wilson, but has been largely overlooked in the Jewish community. The Jewish Review of Book's Michal Leibowitz seeks to remedy this in her review of Wieder's lyrical retelling of the Bible.

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.

In a chapter adapted from his new book, Be, Become, Bless: Jewish Spirituality between East and West, Yaakov Nagen suggests based on the Zohar that the world endures when we see Godliness in another person's face.

Daniel Berkove shows how parallels between the building of the Tabernacle and the building of Pharaoh's storage cities shed light on the differences between civilizations that those structures represent.

Ezra Sivan probes the Sabbath and the Torah's call to love God.

In an earlier Lehrhaus piece, Jeffrey Saks pointed to an obscure custom referenced by Shai Agnon not to eat until the tefillin strap marks fade from one’s arm. Here, Mois Navon shares what happened when he tried adopting this custom for himself.

Mitchell First explains the difference in the wording of the tenth commandment in Exodus and Deutoronomy in light of a grammatical insight by Benno Jacob.