Ketuvim

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.

Dan Ornstein juxtaposes the narratives of Cain and Jonah and explores the motif of anger.

The tokhahah in Leviticus 26 is frequently read as a tragedy, warning of the dire consequences of sin and national failure. Ahead of Yom Kippur 5786, Milton Torres-Ceron offers a new reading, informed by the traditional "pardes" method, that frames Leviticus 26 as an affirmation on unwavering divine companionship with Israel.

Chaim Trachtman compares science and theodicy based on a novel read of the book of Job.

Through analyses of Rashi's commentaries on Song of Songs, Lamentations, and Hosea, Devorah Schoenfeld explores narratives of the Jewish nation's relationship to God.

The biblical figure of Esther is often interpreted by traditional and modern commentators as a heroine of active leadership. Naama Sadan offers a novel perspective, according to which Esther confronts national crisis in female-coded ways, triumphing and saving her people through internally-focused activism.

Tamar Weissman shows how the Druze minority in Israel remarkably resemble the biblical Kenites.

Zvi Grumet suggests that when read in sequence, the kinot of R. Elazar Ha-Kalir—often seen as the ones most difficult to understand—offer a powerful theological narrative from despair to hope.

This essay by Aaron Zeitlin—originally published in Yiddish in 1967 and translated here into English by Daniel Kraft—explores Aaron’s father Hillel Zeitlin’s approach to anti-semitism by way of the Book of Jonah.

Benjamin Marcus was commissioned to create illustrations for an illuminated manuscript of the Book of Ruth. In this one-of-a-kind article, he shares his challenges, his discoveries, and his art.