Ketuvim

Purim - Armed with feminist and political theory, Don Seeman probes the depths of Malbim's Esther commentary.

This year, instead of thinking about the reasons for Jonah’s flight from Nineveh in particular, we can gain a new appreciation for his need to break free altogether. Ahead of Yom Kippur, Erica Brown considers the unique resonance of the book of Jonah in an era marked by isolation and quarantine.

Shlomo Zuckier seeks and uncovers rabbinic-Biblical intertextuality.

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.

Jeffrey Burghauser's three poems draw on the biblical and rabbinic imagination.

Tzvi Sinensky argues compellingly for a new way to understand the relationship between Shir HaShirim and Pesach in times of quarantine.

Natan Oliff explores the evolving role of truth throughout Tanakh and later Jewish history.

Ezra Zuckerman Sivan examines the significance of the six barleys that Boaz gives Ruth in light of the story of Rachel, Leah, and the duda'im.

Ezra Zuckerman Sivan examines how the yibbum triangle of Ruth, Tamar, and Lot's daughters teaches us how to rebuild our lives in a time of upheaval.

In this essay, written in honor of Yom Yerushalayim, Bezalel Naor explores the differing visions for the ideal state held by Plato and the Rabbis, Maimonides and Rabbi Nahman of Breslov.