The Sacrifice of Moses

David Fried argues that the question of Moses seeing the face of God reveals the tragic choice Moses made in choosing between his own spirituality and that of his people.

Narcissus and the Nazir

Tzvi Sinensky explores the Talmudic version of the Roman myth of Narcissus

The Voice and the Sword: A Meta-Narrative in Rashi

Dan Jutan locates a fascinating meta-narrative within Rashi's commentary.

Privilege and Power in the Torah

In this thought-provoking piece, Aharon Frazer traces the approach to power and privilege in the Torah from Genesis through Deuteronomy, and offers a framework for the ethical use of power in our own times.

Jonah and the Varieties of Religious Motivation

David Bashevkin articulates a religious educator’s perspective on why people become religious

The Pregnant Sotah: A Case Study in the Ethics of Abortion

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

Azariah de Rossi’s Fascination with the Septuagint

What inspired Azariah de Rossi to take a work that cut against the grain of rabbinic views of the Septuagint and make it accessible to his Hebrew-reading fellow Jews?

“For These Things I Weep”: Psychological Readings of Lamentations

In time for Tisha Be-Av, Marc Eichenbaum offers a meaningful new reading of Eikha using modern psychological concepts like grief, trauma, and narrative construction.

“Our Eyes”: The Kenites and the Druze

Tamar Weissman shows how the Druze minority in Israel remarkably resemble the biblical Kenites.

Put a Mirror on Your Seder Table

Leah Sarna argues that this is the Passover to tell the stories of enslaved Jewish women: of the victims of October 7, who were and likely still are subjected to sexual violence, and of the heroic women in the era of the Exodus, who fought to ensure the perpetuation of the Jewish people.