JL;DR

The author describes visiting Kibbutz Beeri, near Gaza, after it was attacked by Hamas. The kibbutz, which was once a thriving community, now lies in ruins. ...

The author expresses disappointment with the statement released by the Association of Jewish Studies (AJS) following the recent violence in Israel. The state...

The author recounts their experience on Simchat Torah, a Jewish holiday marking the completion of the annual Torah reading cycle, which coincided with the ou...

In a series of letters, there are discussions and responses to various topics in Jewish literature. Paul Goldberg defends his novel, The Dissident, against a...

The author reflects on the current state of Israel, describing the ongoing anti-government demonstrations and the disarray within the country's air force due...

The book "The Revelation at Sinai: What Does Torah from Heaven Mean?" edited by Yoram Hazony, Gil Student, and Alex Sztuden explores the tension between trad...

In this book, author Azzan Yadin-Israel explores the question of why apples are commonly associated with the forbidden fruit in the story of the Fall of Man....

The Mishnah, an important Jewish text, is shrouded in mystery regarding its origins and purpose. Some believe it was written by Moses, while others attribute...

In his book "The Adjectival Liberal and The Kingship of God," Michael Walzer proposes defending liberalism not as an overarching ideology, but as a way of be...

In the book "Kidnapped!" by Motti Inbari, the author explores the story of Ruth Ben David, a French convert to Judaism, who was involved in the kidnapping of...

"Maestros & Monsters" is a memoir by Robert Boyers that explores his relationships with two Jewish intellectuals, Susan Sontag and George Steiner. Boyers adm...

This text discusses the poetry of Paul Celan, a Holocaust survivor and German-language poet. Celan's most famous poem, "Deathfugue," depicts the Nazis' forci...

"My Hijacking" by Martha Hodes is a personal account of the author's experience being held hostage on a hijacked plane by the Popular Front for the Liberatio...

Rough Diamonds is a Belgian crime drama available on Netflix that revolves around the affairs of a wealthy Hasidic diamond-trading family, the Wolfsons. The ...

The author reflects on his journey in Jewish studies, starting with an interview with Gershom Scholem, who emphasized the need to breathe new life into the f...

The article discusses the rise of a group of Catholic intellectuals known as integralists, who advocate for a form of illiberal legalism that prioritizes the...

During World War II, the rabbis of Jerusalem received a urgent telegram from Kobe, Japan, asking which day Jews should fast on Yom Kippur. The question arose...

Clarice Lispector, a renowned Brazilian writer, was fired from her job as a columnist shortly after the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War, which led to a purge ...

The text discusses the story of Akedat Hannah, the sacrifice of Hannah and her son Samuel, and its connection to the binding of Isaac and other instances of ...

In "Indiana Jones and the Meme-ification of Nazis," the author discusses the decline in the quality of Nazis as villains in the fifth installment of the Indi...

"To This Day" is a novel by Shmuel Yosef Agnon set in wartime Berlin. The protagonist, Shmuel Yosef, is a drifting narrator in search of a place to live in a...

In Paul Goldberg's novel "The Dissident," set in 1970s Moscow, a couple falls in love and gets married amidst a backdrop of a groundbreaking human rights org...

"The Jews of Summer" by Sandra Fox explores the history and significance of Jewish summer camps in postwar Jewish culture. The book highlights how these camp...

Jay Michaelson's book, "The Heresy of Jacob Frank," challenges traditional portrayals of the 18th-century figure as an egomaniac and false messiah. Michaelso...

Maya Arad's novel "Shanim tovot" is a collection of annual Jewish New Years letters written by Leah Zuckerman over five decades, chronicling her life in Amer...

The author discusses their work on personal letters from the Cairo Geniza, focusing on the daily life of Andalusian Jews. While reviewing a geniza fragment, ...

Hilde Domin was a German poet who was born in Cologne in 1909 and returned to Germany in 1954 after over 22 years in exile. She became a national figure and ...

"Nobody's Fool" is a bilingual edition of Isaac Bashevis Singer's signature short story, Gimpel the Fool, featuring Singer's original Yiddish text, Saul Bell...

The Jewish Museum in New York is currently hosting an exhibition called "The Sassoons," which explores the lives and legacy of the Sassoon family, a wealthy ...

"An Unchosen People" by Kenneth B. Moss challenges the notion that interwar Poland was a golden age for Polish Jews. Through extensive research and analysis ...

The article discusses the problematic focus on "upstanders" in Holocaust education, which often overlooks the actual experiences of Jewish victims. It introd...

In "Judaism in a Digital Age" by Rabbi Danny Schiff, the author explores why Reform and Conservative Judaism are in decline. He argues that these movements w...

The lack of a constitution in the Israeli political system has been a subject of debate. Nir Kedar, an Israeli law professor, argues that David Ben-Gurion, t...

This text is a discussion of Norman Mailer's life and career, focusing on his mayoral campaign and his transformation from a nice Jewish boy from Brooklyn to...

In the first letter, the writer discusses the importance of an outsider's perspective in Israeli politics and policy-making. They suggest that politicians ma...

This article discusses the role of Jews in the American Revolution and the subsequent granting of political equality to Jews in the United States. It highlig...

Ilana Pardes' book, "Ruth: A Migrant's Tale," explores the biblical story of Ruth and its various interpretations throughout history. The book tells the stor...

In "Walking Upright" by Daniel Gordis, the author explores the successes and failures of Zionism and the State of Israel in relation to the aspirations of Is...

In Peter Cole's book "Draw Me After," the poet explores the meaning of Jewishness in relation to art, specifically drawing. The book features nine drawings b...

The author discusses the significance of Israel's Declaration of Independence in contemporary Israeli society. The Declaration is often displayed on banners ...

"When Canines Were in the Land" is a book edited by Susan Martha Kahn that tells the story of Rudolphina Menzel, a scientist and Zionist who played a signifi...

This article discusses the complex relationship between Sigmund Freud and his Jewish identity. Freud himself did not want to be seen as a Jewish thinker, as ...

The diaries of Franz Kafka, translated by Ross Benjamin, provide insight into Kafka's life and writing process. Kafka's close friend and literary executor, M...

As Israel approaches its seventy-fifth birthday, the traditional celebrations and nostalgic commemorations will focus mainly on local actors and events. Howe...

"Coming of Age in the Sephardi Diaspora" explores the scarcity of Sephardi coming-of-age stories compared to Ashkenazi literature and highlights some notable...

The letters in this issue touch on various topics related to Jewish concerns. In response to Hillel Halkin's assertion that Israel is sleepwalking towards a ...

In the 1520s, a black man named David Reubeni appeared in North Africa claiming to be the son of King Solomon and the brother of King Joseph, who ruled a Jew...

"Satmar, American-Style" discusses two books that challenge common perceptions of the Satmar Hasidic community in Brooklyn. "A Fortress in Brooklyn" argues t...

In "Bookstore or Beis Medresh," the author reflects on the value of browsing in bookstores and the unique experience they offer. The author shares personal a...

In this article, the author recounts their experience of attempting to walk around the Dead Sea, starting from the Jordanian side and intending to finish on ...