On Yom Kippur, determinism and national unity
Aton Holzer explores the role of free will and its limits in the Yom Kippur liturgy.
Why Pandemics Happen to Good People
What theological language can we use to describe our current pandemic moment? In an excerpt from his forthcoming book, Jeremy Brown takes scope of the ancient and modern notions of plague theodicy and reviews some ideas from the 2021 National Jewish Book Award Winner Torah in a Time of Plague.
With Pain and With Might: Reserve Duty on the Northern Front
Gilad Goldberg describes the bewildering experience of reporting for emergency reserve duty on October 7.
When God Appeases Man: Yom Kippur in a Time of Exile
Yom Kippur marks the end of an 11 week period when thematic haftarot about the destruction of the Temple, consolation following its loss, and repentance replace haftarot connected to the weekly Torah reading. What can this grouping teach us about the nature of forgiveness and reconciliation? Hannah Abrams explains.
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.
American Orthodox Jews Can and Should Care About Whether Liberal Judaism Thrives
Roberta Kwall weighs in on the state of non-Orthodox Judaism and how it affects Orthodoxy.
Leviticus, Leonard Cohen, and the Paradox of Rest
Sarah Rindner asks what the Book of Leviticus, Leonard Cohen and the Liberty Bell all have in common.
A Mathematical Reevaluation of the Prohibition on Counting Jews
Mark Glass
I.
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away. …
Growing up, that’s how the gabba’im of my youth minyan would determine if...
Pesah and Shavuot, Or: Emancipation and Freedom
Jerome Marcus explores understandings of freedom within halakhah and how they relate to Pesah and Shavuot
Going Viral
A new poem from Zohar Atkins offers a poetic meditation on life in the COVID world.
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