When Shabbat first provided a Taste of the World to Come

Our modern Shabbat experience has been called "a taste of the world to come." But was this the case for the first Shabbat in the desert? Ezra Zuckerman Sivan considers the question.

The Tabernacle as a Response to the Failure in the Garden of Eden

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.

Revelation Deferred but not Denied: the Golden Calf as a Rabbinic Origin Story

Amitai Bin-Nun provides a fresh and intriguing perspective on the story of the Golden Calf by reading it in light of the Talmudic passage in Menahot detailing an encounter between Moses and R. Akiba on Mt. Sinai where God is tying crowns to the letters of the Torah scroll.

Rejoicing at the Downfall of Enemies: From Ancient Egypt to Modern Israel

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.

Why Do We Deserve God’s Favor?

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