Author Guidelines

Author Guidelines

Thank you for visiting Lehrhaus.

Please direct all submissions and other inquiries to editors@thelehrhaus.com. 

Lehrhaus receives submissions from authors with a wide range of levels of experience and background. A typical Lehrhaus essay offers a novel Torah or Jewishly-related insight, is text-based as appropriate, is well-crafted, and promotes civil discourse by avoiding ad hominem attacks. Our essays vary in length; prose submissions can range anywhere from 1,000-6,000 words.

Genres include: the weekly Torah portion or Tanakh; Talmud and Halakhah; Jewish holidays, thought and history; contemporary commentary; and culture, which includes poetry, personal reflections, short stories, and analyses of literature, music, and the arts.

Lehrhaus also publishes book reviews. There are many ways to write an effective book review, but generally, in addition to summarizing the book, the review ought to reflect on the issues raised in a meaningful way. A reviewer should leverage their own knowledge and interests to evaluate the author’s arguments. Reviews between 1,500-3,000 words tend to work well.

We endeavor to acknowledge all submissions within 48 hours. Feel free to query about the status of a submission after 4 weeks. All articles, if accepted, will be edited for content and style by one or more of our editors in consultation with the author. At times, instead of accepting or rejecting an article, the editors will provide feedback for the author to consider and encourage the author to revise and resubmit the article.

In addition to writing full-length responses to Lehrhaus articles, readers are welcome to submit 200-500 word letters to the editor. These letters should contribute toward a meaningful conversation about the original piece. Letters will undergo our same review and editorial process for full-length submissions, and we cannot guarantee publication of a response by the author of the original piece.

Please note:

The Lehrhaus does not accept previously published work (including content posted on blogs, social media, and other publicly accessible forums) or manuscripts under review elsewhere. Exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of the editors. Submissions that significantly modify or expand a previously published work may be considered for publication. We generally require submissions at least two weeks before the prospective publication date for time-sensitive pieces.

Please adhere to our style sheet before submitting.

All submissions should either be a Googledoc or a .docx file.

Authors may republish their Lehrhaus articles if they provide attribution that it first appeared on The Lehrhaus and include a link if it appears online.

We look forward to receiving your submission soon!

Sincerely, the Lehrhaus Editors.