In Plain Sight: Jewish Masquerade from Clueless to the Rabbis

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.

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.

Passover’s Rupture and Reconstruction

Yosef Lindell argues that the Haggadah focuses on the story of the Exodus rather than on the laws of the paschal sacrifice as a way of looking forward towards the future redemption.

The Shepherd’s Veil

This short story by Benjamin Guggenheim reimagines Moses after the sin of the Golden Calf: powerful yet powerless, dutiful yet embittered, so close to God yet so distant from His people.

This Graphic Novel is a Bible Commentary. But What Kind?

David Zvi Kalman reviews Koren Publishers’ new graphic novel version of Megillat Esther.

The Agagites

For Parshat Zakhor, this short story by Shira Eliaser richly imagines the world of King Saul and the clandestine encounter that brought Haman’s Amalekite ancestors into the world.

The Legacy of Rav Moshe Kahn zt’’l

In commemoration of the upcoming Sheloshim of Rav Moshe Kahn, Mindy Schwartz Zolty shares a Hesped of her teacher in which she discusses his derekh ha-limmud and his derekh as a melamed.

Letters to the Editor: Responses to Jeff Fox on Football

Yoni Zolty and Jordan Soffer respond to Jeff Fox's recent article on football and halakhic values.

American Football: A Case Study in the Limits of Halakhah and the Claim of...

Jeffrey Fox examines whether watching football is problematic from a Torah point of view.

Professor Menahem Hayyim Schmelzer’s Beloved Books 

David Selis and Zvi Erenyi share their memories of JTS Librarian Professor Menahem Schmelzer for his sheloshim.