Tanakh

In its opening verses, Parshat Shoftim describes a judicial system that enshrines pursuing Tzedek, or justice, as a core value. Benjamin Barer unpacks a Gemara in Sanhedrin that provides three distinct conceptions of the obligation to pursue justice, suggesting how we might build a more sacred society.

Yisroel Ben-Porat grapples with whether the case of the pregnant Sotah has implications for the debates surrounding abortion.

Tzvi Sinensky explores the Biblical origins of Tu be-Av.

David Curwin “Ahavah mekalkelet et ha-shurah.” — Bereishit Rabbah 55:8 The sages used the above phrase “love bends the line” to describe Abraham’s actions before the akeidah:...

The death of Nadav and Avihu is difficult to explain, perhaps even impossible to approach through the medium of language. In a composition crossing the boundaries of original drashah, Breslov thought, poetry, visual art, and historical fiction, Akiva Weisinger renders the tragedy of Nadav and Avihu as a reflection of the Vacated Space beyond human language.

Matt Lubin seeks to resolve the mystery of the korban asham.

Ezra Sivan challenges our understanding of the fifth commandment and all of Sefer Devarim.

In this second-place prize-winning essay for Hadar’s annual Ateret Zvi contest, Nehemia Polen approaches a vexing episode in the Torah through new lens: what if Moses and Aaron were denied entry to the Land of Israel not because of what they did when obtaining water from the rock but because of where they escaped to right before?

Malka Simkovich hunts for Jewish texts in some unlikely places.

Yosef Lindell tracks the Staff of Moses throughout its amazing "life".