Tanakh

Ezra Sivan uncovers hidden meaning in what happened and didn't happen during the Israelites' journey in the wilderness.

"Who Knows" seems to have become a recurring question for so many of us. Erica Brown shares personal and biblical reflections on the meaning of this phrase for the age of coronavirus.

Dr. Eddie Reichman, an ER doctor on the front lines of fighting Coronavirus, and an expert in the history of halakhah and medicine, shares a unique perspective on history of combatting plagues in the Jewish tradition.

In unpacking the meaning of a tricky verse from Eikhah that we say as part of the Shofar service on Rosh Hashanah, Mitchell First introduces us to the literary principle called hendiadys, which can help us understand various phrases throughout Tanakh.

The biblical account of the holiday we refer to as Shavuot bears no relationship at all to the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. The emergence of the association between this harvest festival and the Sinai covenant has therefore occupied both traditional and academic thinkers for centuries. Tzvika Aviv argues for a previously unexplored approach to the question, one which bridges the mystical insights of the Zohar with current scientific knowledge regarding wheat genetics.

Erica Brown considers the little-discussed prohibition on planting during the Nine Days and what it teaches about the nature of mourning and joy.

Following the World Zionist Congress, Gabriel Slamovits reflects on the significance of the event and how the journey of Avraham and Sarah in Parshat Lech Lecha informs the future.

Ezra Zuckerman Sivan explains what it means when the Torah says that Moses's burial site was hidden.

Tzvi Sinensky suggests that the Megillah itself confronts the question of Purim's legitimacy.

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.