Timely Thoughts

What was the covenant of peace God gave Pinchas? R. Shlomo Zuckier puts the pieces together to find out

Avraham’s challenge to God’s planned destruction of Sodom raises the fundamental ethical problem of collective punishment. The resolution of this challenge, Sruli Fruchter explains, enables Avraham to realize God’s highest ideals and to confront the conflict between compassion for oppressors and consideration for their victims.

Six new poems by Elhanan Nir—published here with English translation and annotation—capture the grief and discontinuity of this moment.

How is the U.K. community dealing with the meteoric rise in antisemitic acts since the outbreak of war? Michael Harris, a community rabbi, professor, and father of an Israeli soldier, shares his unique perspective.

David Silverstein explores the recent attempts to ban Rav Eliezer Melamed and his already-classic Peninei Halakha.

What does the makeup of the altar drainage pipes tell us about the nature of holiness? Shlomo Zuckier explores!

With the Yamim Noraim approaching, Avinoam Stillman analyzes Ḥavvayah, “experience,” in the thought of A.D. Gordon.

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.

Chaim Trachtman shows how a careful examination of debates between Shammai and Hillel challenge our preconceived notions about them.

This week's Parashah introduces us to the city of Shechem. Tamar Weissman examines the various appearances of this city throughout Tanakh, explaining that while it is a city of rupture, it is also one of covenant and fraternity.