Tanakh

In an original analysis of one of the most famous stories in the Torah, Maier Becker calls into question many long-held assumptions about this week's parasha and proposes a new reading based on the interpretations of traditional exegetes.

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

The Yom Kippur War was a defining moment in the life of poet Leonard Cohen, a moment when his entire spiritual destiny hung in the balance. Bezalel Naor on Cohen's priestly imagination.

Ben Greenfield calls attention to a crucial, but unnoticed feature of the early narratives in Exodus.

The stories of Hagar and Ishmael's banishment and subsequent rescue by the angel and that of a cast-out baby Moses on the Nile rescued by Pharaoh's daughter are seemingly dissimilar, but this close reading by David Curwin argues that their strong parallels have a lesson to teach about the importance of being active and not succumbing to passivity.

AJ Berkovitz explores the "life" of Jewish books, from authors to owners to outside the margins.

Ben Greenfield examines the curious parallels between the stories of Moshe in the ark and the splitting of the sea.

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.

For Eve Grubin, Bilam's hidden messages is a lesson for the Torah and for life.

The Mei Ha-Shiloah’s statements on predetermination pose a theological challenge to foundational Jewish doctrines. In an analysis weaving together several Torah narratives and Izhbitzer commentaries, Reuven Boshnack proposes an empowering interpretation of the Mei Ha-Shiloah.