Where is the Justice in the Tenth Plague?

Ezra Sivan asks: Where is the justice in the tenth plague?

Moses and Joseph’s bones

Sharing his Torah commentaries in English for the first time, Nissim Bellahsen of France examines the role of Moses in the atonement for Joseph's sale.

“Let Truth Spring Up from the Ground”: Truth’s Changing Role Throughout History

Natan Oliff explores the evolving role of truth throughout Tanakh and later Jewish history.

Military Might as Reluctant Religious Virtue: The Bizarre Inclusion of Genesis 14 in Tanakh

Abraham’s participation in the war of the four kings against the five fits uncomfortably in the broader narrative of his life. Rabbi Mark Glass argues that this Abrahamic episode articulates a core Torah perspective on military might.

The King’s Great Cover-Up and Great Confession

Ezra Sivan explores the idea of confession, through the eyes of King David

The Accidental Iniquity of Amalek

In a fascinating analysis, Gavriel Lakser places the Megillah in the context of the overarching struggle between the Jewish people and Amalek.

Priests and Prejudice: Disability in Parashat Emor

Joshua Stadlan carefully explores the “blemishes” that invalidate a kohein for service in the Mishkan to argue that they were not an original part of God’s plan.

The Directional Shaking of the Lulav: Bible, Mysticism, and Religious Polemics

Yaakov Jaffe traces the origins and evolution of the custom to shake the lulav in different directions.

Haggai: Prophet of Elul

Tzvi Sinensky on how Sefer Haggai unlocks the meaning of Hodesh Elul.

In God We Trust or Do We? The Fears of Isaac and Jacob

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.