Rebuke, Repentance, and Renewal: A Literary Analysis of David’s Character in II Samuel 12

Natan Levin examines King David’s character through a close reading of his narratives in the Book of Samuel.

Mirror, Mirror

Building on ideas from Jacques Lacan and Rabbeinu Bahya ibn Pakuda, Zach Truboff offers an innovative psychological reading of the Cain and Abel story.

Corona and Seder-ing Alone

How was the original Seder experienced, and how do we constitute a Jewish collective? Joel Levy and Leon Wiener-Dow argue that the collective must begin with the independent-minded individual.

Get Your Hashkafa Out of My Chumash!

Yaakov Jaffe provides an ideological argument against including ideology in our Chumashim.

Letters to the Editor: A Rejoinder to the Review by Martin Lockshin

In this letter to the editor, David E.S. Stein, the project manager and revising translator of the JPS TANAKH: Gender-Sensitive Edition, responds to the review by Martin Lockshin.

Abraham’s “Diminished” Weeping: An Orthographic Note Inspired by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Zt”l

There’s a miniature kaf at the beginning of the parashah. As Gabriel Slamovits explains, what the diminished letter says about how Abraham mourned for Sarah fits well with a prominent teaching of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, zt”l.

In God’s Country: The “Zionism” of Rashi’s First Comment

Elli Fischer reads one of Rashi's most famous comments against the grain.

Frum and Free? Passover and Jewish Views on Liberty

Aton Holzer offers a novel re-reading of the Seder, arguing that it reflects and recreates four types of liberty that can be found in the Exodus narrative, as well as a fifth form of freedom.

Rivkah’s Existentialism: Wholeness and Brokenness

This past Shabbat, Rivkah took center stage, making a dramatic decision that altered the course of her descendants’ histories. Sruli Fruchter examines the angst that preceded Rivkah’s fateful actions.

The Source of Joseph’s Dreams 

Lazarre Simckes analyses Joseph’s dreams through the lens of trauma psychology.