Timely Thoughts

Outside the Land of Israel, we add an extra day to several holidays. Michael Kurin wonders: why not on Hanukkah?

In his letter to the editor, Gershon Klapper draws upon three medieval sources that undermine Ben Greenfield's recent reading of the Zohar on the three attributes of the Avot.

Recent years have seen dramatic changes in the packaging of Taharat ha-Mishpahah education on Instagram, from video reels to influencers to new, diverse online communities. Lindsey Bodner offers an astute, well-researched review of this new paradigm shift in Taharat ha-Mishpahah education today.

Yakov Nagen examines the opening chapters of Genesis to explore what God wanted from people for matan Torah.

Yisroel Ben-Porat analyzes a Midrash offering non-misogynistic takes on the original sin.

Yaakov Jaffe traces the origins and evolution of the custom to shake the lulav in different directions.

Moshe Kurtz explores halakhic and hashkafic considerations surrounding bringing young children to shul.

In unpacking the meaning of a tricky verse from Eikhah that we say as part of the Shofar service on Rosh Hashanah, Mitchell First introduces us to the literary principle called hendiadys, which can help us understand various phrases throughout Tanakh.

Michael Broyde offers a new theory for why halakhah obligates women in some time-bound positive mitzvot and exempts them from others.

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.