Tanakh

Herzl Hefter provides critical perspective on a stream of Akeidah interpretation from Kierkegaard to the Rav

Tzvi Sinensky suggests that we can best understand the Haggadah against the backdrop of Sefer Devarim.

Shimon Lerner uncovers a surprising but profound message that goes to the very heart of the Purim story.

What was the covenant of peace God gave Pinchas? R. Shlomo Zuckier puts the pieces together to find out

Ezra Sivan asks what light the narratives of Shabbat and the scouts shed on some critical social questions.

In her winning Ateret Zvi essay, Leah Sarna explores two simultaneously true stories about pregnancy: it is at once a beautiful, incredible miracle, and also a demanding journey, both physically and mentally, that often feels more like a catastrophe. Studying the Torah's accounts of pregnancy in Tazria and Rivkah's life, Sarna offers a moving analysis of what it means to hear, tell, and live these stories.

AJ Berkovitz offers a charitable perspective on American politicians' apparent errors in citing the Bible.

Sholom Eisenstat presents a passage of the Zohar about the inverted nuns in Parashat Beha'alotekha to explore the interplay between design and interpretation of the Torah.

How did Esther shape the way Puritans saw the ideal role of the contemporary woman? Cotton Mather, a major player in the Salem Witch Trials, had much to say in his Ornaments for the Daughters of Zion. Stuart Halpern of Yeshiva University explains, wishing us all a Puritan Purim.

In his review of Michael Hattin’s commentaries on the books of Joshua and Judges, Francis Nataf explores how greater collaboration between creative Tanakh teachers could help reduce the number of overly speculative readings.