JL;DR

The Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in the case of Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru and St. James School v. Biel, which involves t...

The article explores the friendship between Ruth and Naomi in the book of Ruth. While some interpretations see Ruth's famous declaration as a form of convers...

The article discusses the HBO adaptation of Philip Roth's novel "The Plot Against America," focusing on the implausibility of the character Rabbi Bengelsdorf...

The article discusses the significance of Lag BaOmer, a holiday celebrated on the 33rd day of the Omer, counting the days between Passover and Shavuot. It ex...

"Unorthodox" is a four-part miniseries on Netflix that follows Esty, a young woman from a Hasidic community in Williamsburg who escapes to a secular life in ...

Tom Segev's biography of David Ben-Gurion challenges the perception of the Israeli leader as a miraculous figure during the country's War of Independence, em...

"The War on History" discusses the historical narrative surrounding Palestinian identity and the Palestinian national movement, particularly critiquing the l...

In "How Many Tears?" by Robert Chazan and Adam Teller, the historiography of Jewish suffering and migration is explored. Chazan challenges the traditional vi...

Rafael Medoff's book explores the complex relationship between President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the American Jewish community during his tenure. Despi...

In "Marx and the Jewish Fingerprint Question" by Shlomo Avineri, the discussion revolves around Karl Marx's Jewish origins and their influence on his work. T...

John Barton's book, "A History of the Bible," offers a comprehensive overview of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, tracing their interpretation and tra...

In the Letters from Spring 2020, Menachem Lorberbaum, Michael Walzer, Noam Zohar, and Elisheva Carlebach discuss their project, "The Jewish Political Traditi...

The Jewish Review of Books reflects on a decade of literary recommendations by engaging with 10 writers discussing their favored books from the past 10 years...

Laura Arnold Leibman's book "The Art of the Jewish Family" explores the history of Jewish women in the United States and the Caribbean from 1750 to 1850 thro...

The article discusses the recent controversial firing of librarians from the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, which houses a significant collection of Yid...

"Family Papers: A Sephardic Journey Through the Twentieth Century" by Sarah Abrevaya Stein delves into the history of the Levy family from Salonica, explorin...

In this text, the focus is on T. E. Lawrence's involvement in the Middle East during World War I and the subsequent negotiations that took place, including h...

David Caplan's poetry collection "Baal Teshuvah Poetics" explores the complex inner world of a baal teshuvah, a Jew who returns to Orthodoxy, particularly th...

The text discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on daily life and Jewish traditions. It reflects on the cancellation of events like a Jewish conferenc...

"Super Stan" by Liel Leibovitz explores the influential role of Stan Lee, a Jewish creator, in shaping the superhero comic book industry through characters l...

The article discusses the exploration of Thoreau's "Walden" with a study partner in Jerusalem, highlighting the parallels between Thoreau's writings and trad...

Unbound: The Recreated Haggadah is a unique and artistic take on the traditional Passover Haggadah, designed by NYU-trained theater director Eli Kaplan-Wildm...

The discussion revolves around whether the actions depicted in the Exodus story were deceptive tricks by God or necessary measures. Bar-Ilan University profe...

"The Plot Against America," a television series based on Philip Roth's novel, explores a counterfactual history where Charles Lindbergh, a Nazi sympathizer, ...

In Seymour Epstein's "Suspecting Esther," he presents a provocative interpretation of the Book of Esther, suggesting that it serves as a critique of Jewish l...

In "Haman, Builder of Towers, Brother of Abraham?" by Adam J. Silverstein, the author explores the various interpretations of the Esther story in Islamic cou...

The article discusses the tradition of "Little Purims" within Jewish communities, which are local festivals commemorating miraculous events similar to Purim....

Abraham Socher, editor of the Jewish Review of Books, engages in a thoughtful exchange with Tal Keinan on the ideas presented in Keinan's book "God Is in the...

Abraham Socher engages in a thoughtful debate with Tal Keinan regarding the conservation and transmission of Judaism, critiquing Keinan's "crowdsourcing" app...

"Hanukkah+" is a new album inspired by Yo La Tengo's annual Hanukkah concert series. The album features a mix of original songs and covers, aiming to provide...

In her book, Jessica Cooperman explores the role of American Jews during World War I, focusing on the involvement of Jewish soldiers in the Punitive Expediti...

Paul Mendes-Flohr's biography of Martin Buber, the first in English in over 30 years, delves into the philosopher's life and thought, contextualizing his wri...

In "Overturned Tables," Paula Fredriksen explores the Jewishness of Jesus and early Christianity, challenging the historical view of supersessionism that Chr...

Chaim N. Saiman's book explores the multifaceted nature of halakhah, Jewish law, arguing that it exists on a spectrum between a system of rules governing beh...

In Michal Kravel-Tovi's book on state-sponsored religious conversions in Israel, the conversion crisis is explored, dating back to the 1950s when the issue o...

The exhibit "Mark Twain and the Holy Land" at the New-York Historical Society Museum and Library celebrates the 150th anniversary of Mark Twain's travelogue ...

The James Simon Galerie in Berlin, built as an adjunct to the city's grand museums, commemorates James Simon, a Jewish philanthropist integral to bringing cu...

"Zionism's Maritime Revolution" by Kobi Cohen-Hattab discusses the historical significance of Jewish maritime endeavors in the years leading up to Israel's e...

In "The City Game," author Matthew Goodman explores the remarkable story of the City College of New York Beavers basketball team's triumph in the 1950 NIT ch...

"Nothing but Blue Skies" by James Kaplan delves into the life and impact of Irving Berlin, an influential Jewish composer and lyricist, highlighting his unpa...

The discussion in the Winter 2020 Letters involves different perspectives on the current state and potential future of American Judaism. There are views on t...

Harold Bloom, a renowned literary critic, had a profound impact on his students with his intense engagement with poetry and prose, urging them to be transpor...

"God Is in the Crowd" by Tal Keinan delves into the complex issues facing Jewish communities today, touching on topics like the decline of American Jewry due...

"The text 'Tradition and Invention' explores how Jews, for much of their history, were perceived as lacking a political life due to their exile and subordina...

The text discusses the life and work of James Atlas, a literary biographer who delves into his experiences writing biographies of famous figures like Saul Be...

In "Funny Man" by Patrick McGilligan, the biography of Mel Brooks unfolds, shedding light on the comedy icon's journey from his early days as the exuberant C...

The text discusses the life and writing of Glikl bas Judah Leib, a 17th-century Yiddish writer known for her unique memoirs. Glikl refrained from giving her ...

The reminiscence of the Mendelssohn scholar Alexander Altmann reflects on his punctuality and devotion to studying Moses Mendelssohn's works, notably "Jerusa...

Kalonymus Kalman Shapira and Hillel Zeitlin, two prominent figures in interwar Warsaw's Hasidic world, had significant impacts on the Hasidic community befor...

The story of Herschel Grynszpan, a 17-year-old Jewish boy who assassinated a German diplomat in 1938, not only sparked Kristallnacht but also outlined the de...