JL;DR

In this powerful letter, the author addresses survivors of child sexual abuse in the Jewish community. They describe the contradictory experiences and expect...

Neo-Hasidism refers to the engagement with Hasidic texts and practices by individuals who are not part of a Hasidic community. There are two main camps of ne...

The text discusses the practice of a cappella harmony in synagogue liturgy, a custom that dates back to Rabbi Leon Modena in 1604. Modena faced criticism for...

The text tells the story of Moses reflecting on his journey as the leader of the Jewish people. He remembers his encounter with God at the burning bush, wher...

The review discusses a graphic novel interpretation of the biblical book of Esther. The author argues that illustrated sefarim (sacred texts) should be taken...

The author reflects on his personal journey as a gay Torah Jew and relates it to the narrative of the acceptance of the Torah by the children of Israel. He d...

This text tells a story set in ancient times, where a captured king named Agag is brought before King Saul of Israel. Agag pleads for his life, offering to s...

The article explores the tension in Jewish thought between the idea of yeridat ha-dorot, the decline of the generations, and aliyat ha-dorot, the ascent of t...

In this poem titled "The Deed," Yehoshua November reflects on his personal journey as a Jew. He wrestles with the influence of his upbringing in a household ...

The first half of the book of Exodus tells the epic story of the Israelites' freedom from slavery in Egypt and the establishment of a covenant with God. The ...

The book "Judaisms Challenge: Election, Divine Love, and Human Enmity" edited by Alon Goshen-Gottstein explores the question of how Jews should confront non-...

This essay pays tribute to Rav Moshe Kahn ztl, a beloved and influential teacher of Torah, particularly to women. Despite not being widely known, Rav Kahn ha...

Chaim Grade's story "My Quarrel with Hersh Rasseyner" engages with the problem of evil and the question of divine justice in the face of the Holocaust. In th...

This article is a response to an article by R. Jeffrey Fox, who argued that watching football may be a halakhic prohibition. The author disagrees with this v...

This article explores the ethical implications of watching American football, particularly in light of the brain damage that players often suffer. The author...

In this humorous and imaginative piece, David Zvi Kalman presents a dialogue between Moses and God discussing the challenges of transmitting and preserving t...

In this article, the author explores the significance of God's redirection of the Israelites from the land of the Philistines to the Sea of Reeds (Yam Suf) d...

The Song at the Sea (Exodus 15) and the role of music within the lives of the Israelites during their enslavement in Egypt is explored. The Torah mentions Mi...

This essay explores the concept of prayer beyond its traditional understanding as a religious act bound to specific times and locations. The author draws on ...

This article explores the topic of sexual assault from a Torah perspective and its modern implications. It draws parallels between different cases of sexual ...

"The Revelation at Sinai: What does Torah from Heaven Mean?" is a book that explores the concept of revelation and its significance in Judaism. It presents a...

"The Soul of the Mishna" by Yakov Nagen is a collection of 72 essays that explore the meaning and depth of the Mishnah, emphasizing that it is not just a man...

Professor Menahem Hayyim Schmelzer, a highly respected scholar and librarian at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, passed away in December 2022. He ...

In this article, Nathaniel Helfgot discusses two important aspects of being a rabbi or Jewish educator that are not often emphasized in rabbinical training. ...

In 2022, the Lehrhaus team published over one hundred original pieces, becoming a center for conversations and ideas in the Modern Orthodox community. They a...

The article discusses the question of why Hanukkah is an eight-day holiday, even outside of Israel where most other holidays have an additional day added. Th...

"Hanukkah" is a poem by Avrom Liessen that reflects on the author's childhood memories of the holiday. Liessen, who had wandered away from his religious upbr...

This article explores the absence of a tractate dedicated to the festival of Hanukkah in classical rabbinic literature. While references to Hanukkah can be f...

The author discusses the practice of lighting Hanukkah candles in between the prayers of minhah and maariv, as a communal obligation. The author's students a...

The author discusses the skepticism around the miracle of the oil lasting for eight days during Hanukkah and the denial of miracles in general in the context...

This poem by Bruce Black reflects on the act of lighting candles in the context of Hanukkah. The speaker contemplates the concept of miracles and the flame's...

In response to Ben Greenfield's essay that argues the Zohar Hadash interpreted the attributes of hesed, gevurah, and emet as qualities the forefathers wrestl...

This article explores the concept of vulnerability in Jewish life. It argues that vulnerability, defined as admitting one's own incompleteness or weakness, p...

The article discusses the role of clothing in the Joseph narrative in the Book of Genesis. Clothing is used as a symbol throughout the story, starting with t...

In kabbalistic and Hasidic thought, each of the forefathers is associated with a defining characteristic - Avraham with kindness (hesed), Yitzhak with streng...

In the book review of "Staying Human: A Jewish Theology for the Age of Artificial Intelligence" by Harris Bors, the author explores the tension between unity...

Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg's opinion on sex reassignment surgery (SRS) has been widely discussed but remains unclear. Some assume he held the minority view tha...

This memoir reflects on the experience of being a Rebbetzin, the wife of a rabbi, and the challenges that come with it. The author, a lawyer and feminist, sh...

This article explores the role of humor and laughter in the face of tragedy, focusing specifically on the example of Rabbi Akiva's laughter during the destru...

The essay explores the placement of the laws of mourning (aveilut) within Jewish Halakhah. While medieval Jewish scholars struggled to find a suitable catego...

Orthodox Jewish women are using Instagram to educate and validate practitioners of taharat ha-mishpahah, the Jewish laws of family purity. This trend of usin...

In this article, Yakov Nagen explores what God wants from humanity based on an analysis of the creation chapters in the Book of Genesis. The author argues th...

The story of Cain and Abel in the Torah teaches us about human violence and its causes. Cain's jealousy and rage towards his brother Abel, triggered by God's...

The text examines the story of Adam and Eve and the primordial sin, offering new interpretations that challenge traditional views. It explores the question o...

This article discusses the debate over how to translate Hebrew poetry, or piyyut, in prayer books. It focuses on a specific dispute that arose in the mid-20t...

The essay explores the theme of existentialism and nihilism in Jewish liturgy, particularly in the context of Yom Kippur. It examines the idea of being and e...

The shaking of the lulav during Sukkot is a familiar and important ritual, but few people understand the reasons behind the different directions in which the...

The author explores the question of whether children should be brought to synagogue. He shares his personal experience of bringing his young daughter to morn...

In Bruce Black's "A Life Worth Living," the author explores the questions and challenges we face in finding meaning and purpose in our lives. He specifically...

This collection of five poems by Ben Corvo explores the turning of the year from Elul to Tishrei in Jewish observance. The poems delve into the themes of tim...