The Myth of the Judaic Puritans
Did the English Puritans of New England emulate Jewish prayers and practices? Yisroel Benporat investigates the common claim and its complexities--as well as what the myth itself tells us about Jews in America.
The Pauper’s Bread
"Ha lahma anya" is one of the first paragraphs recited at the Seder - and its strange features have been baffling commentators for centuries. Elli Fischer adds his reflections to the mix.
Book Review: Haroset: A Taste of Jewish History by Susan Weingarten
Yakov Ellenbogen reviews Susan Weingarten's Haroset: A Taste of Jewish History.
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein on What Makes America Great
Rav Moshe Feinstein does not praise the United States for not having fascists and communists, but for having a system of government that is particularly resistant to what came to be known as totalitarianism.
Social Distancing in the Rabbinic Tradition
Jeremy Brown discusses some remarkable Talmudic and historical precedents for social distancing during pandemics.
“Like a Fleeting Dream”: U-netaneh Tokef, Dreams, and the Meaning of the High Holy...
Man’s actions—even those that seem fleeting and insignificant—can have an impact, positive or negative. Oren Oppenheim explores themes of u-Netaneh Tokef
“I Would Soar to the Sphere of Heaven”: Aleph and “I” in a Tishah...
In advance of Tisha Be-Av, Tzvi Novick annotates and interprets the kinnah of a’adeh ad hug shamayim by the master poet R. Eleazar ha-Kalir, unlocking its complex acrostic to determine who its speaker is meant to be.
“Certainty Has Never Been Mine”: The Denominational Eclecticism of David Ellenson
Just in advance of the shloshim for David Ellenson, the former president of Hebrew Union College, Jonathan D. Sarna pays tribute to a man whose life, work, and friendships spanned the Jewish denominational divide.
Eliezer Melamed, Unpredictable and Non-Tribal Posek: The Case of Women’s Roles
David Silverstein explores the recent attempts to ban Rav Eliezer Melamed and his already-classic Peninei Halakha.
What Does God Want from Humanity? A New Perspective on the Creation Chapters
Yakov Nagen examines the opening chapters of Genesis to explore what God wanted from people for matan Torah.
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