Tanakh

Meshulam Gotlieb analyzes a midrash on Jacob's ladder dream to understand Jacob's lifelong fear, how he became so fearful and how it affected his life.

In his letter to the editor, Gershon Klapper draws upon three medieval sources that undermine Ben Greenfield's recent reading of the Zohar on the three attributes of the Avot.

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

David Fried argues that the question of Moses seeing the face of God reveals the tragic choice Moses made in choosing between his own spirituality and that of his people.

Ben Greenfield explains that the attributes commonly associated with our forefathers are not attributes at which they excelled, but rather attributes with which they struggled.

Aton Holzer offers a novel interpretation of Isaiah 53 based on current events in Israel.

Yom Kippur marks the end of an 11 week period when thematic haftarot about the destruction of the Temple, consolation following its loss, and repentance replace haftarot connected to the weekly Torah reading. What can this grouping teach us about the nature of forgiveness and reconciliation? Hannah Abrams explains.

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.

Ezra Sivan reexamines the relationship between Rachel and Leah.

In Part II of his series on trop, William Gewirtz explains the principle of recursion and how it helps us interpret texts.