Tanakh

Benjamin Barer traces the word Hevel through Jewish texts, showing how the use of the same word can teach us both about the wisdom of Kohelet we read this past Shabbat and the character of Hevel who we will read about in this week's Parashah.

What is the meaning of a biblical song? Writing for Parshat Ha'azinu and in memory of her beloved cousin, Shira Shaindel Rodman (née Brilliant) z”l, Elana Stein Hain reviews Geula Twersky's theory of biblical poetry as portrayed in her 2022 book Torah Song.

Yaakov Jaffe explores four themes of Psalm 24 as recited on the second day of Rosh Hashanah.

Lawrence Kaplan responds to AJ Berkovitz’s article on the many conflicting interpretations of a passage in Midrash Tehillim, highlighting two different approaches advanced by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik.

With only two verses about him in the Book of Judges, not much is known about Tola ben Puah. Ami Hordes takes clues from his story's text and context to paint a fuller picture of who the judge was and why he was important.

Through the lens of social science and game theory, Ezra Zuckerman Sivan connects three stories in Tanakh of people who threatened the social order: the blasphemer, the wood-gatherer, and Achan.

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

AJ Berkovitz traces the reception history of a Midrash Tehillim that seems to equate the reading of Psalms with Torah study, offering a fascinating case study of how tradition evolves.

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

Daniel Berkove shows how parallels between the building of the Tabernacle and the building of Pharaoh's storage cities shed light on the differences between civilizations that those structures represent.