Timely Thoughts

Historian Henry Abramson, who is currently releasing a series of video lectures contextualizing Israeli history and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, asks hard questions about how to understand the post-October 7th world.

It is customary to celebrate Tu Bi-Shevat by eating fruits and reciting the She-Hehiyanu blessing on them. This custom, however, has proved challenging in recent years as advances in technology have made it difficult to find new fruit—as defined by halakhah—to say the She-Hehiyanu

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

Shlomo Zuckier explores the nature of Yom Kippur and its relationship to atonement.

Alan Jotkowitz looks at the current situation in Israel through the lens of modern interpretations of the Akeidah.

Shmuel Greene describes the lessons he learned from his Rebbe, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz ztz"l

Alex Ozar explores wartime law in the Rambam.

Why have stories of Jewish masquerade captured audiences since ancient times? In her latest, Malka Z. Simkovich explores the hidden meaning behind dressing up, from the Second Temple to '90s cinema.

As we reflect on ever-present evil by reading Parashat Zakhor this Shabbat amidst the shocking human tragedy of the war in Ukraine, Zach Truboff brings to light a derasha by Rav Moshe Avigdor Amiel written a century ago that speaks to this very moment.

What does Shakespeare have to say about the Exodus, Moses, and the power of storytelling? Shaina Trapedo explores how the Bard's work can speak to us during this unprecedented Pesach season.