Authors Posts by Ezra Sivan
Ezra Sivan
Ezra Zuckerman Sivan, an economic sociologist, is the Alvin J. Siteman Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy at the MIT Sloan School of Management. His main current research project (from which several of his Lehrhaus essays, including this one, is drawn) is a book on the invention of the seven-day week. Ezra is teaching an online course on this topic at Drisha (https://drisha.org/class/the-invention-of-the-seven-day-week/), beginning March 3rd. He welcomes feedback at ewzucker@mit.edu and he tweets at @ewzucker.
The Triple Threat to Social Order
Through the lens of social science and game theory, Ezra Zuckerman Sivan connects three stories in Tanakh of people who threatened the social order: the blasphemer, the wood-gatherer, and Achan.
The Gift of Shabbat as the Trace of God’s Caring Hand on our Faces
Ezra Zuckerman Sivan explains how an enigmatic passage in Masekhet Shabbat teaches us how we can use Shabbat to connect to an oft-hidden God.
What Do We Know About Moses’s Burial Place?
Ezra Zuckerman Sivan explains what it means when the Torah says that Moses's burial site was hidden.
In Six Barleys were Wrapped an Enduring Legacy
Ezra Zuckerman Sivan examines the significance of the six barleys that Boaz gives Ruth in light of the story of Rachel, Leah, and the duda'im.
When Shabbat first provided a Taste of the World to Come
Our modern Shabbat experience has been called "a taste of the world to come." But was this the case for the first Shabbat in the desert? Ezra Zuckerman Sivan considers the question.
Aleinu and Genesis: Against the Twin Idolatries of Universalism & Ethnonationalism
Does the Torah support a universalist or ethnonationalist political orientation? In this timely essay, Ezra Zuckerman Sivan explores the meaning behind key stories in Genesis through the framework of the Aleinu prayer.
Rebuilding a Future When Our World Comes Crashing Down
Ezra Zuckerman Sivan examines how the yibbum triangle of Ruth, Tamar, and Lot's daughters teaches us how to rebuild our lives in a time of upheaval.
Fellowship from Plague: Lessons from Passover
Ezra Sivan follows up last year's piece about how the Exodus leveled social boundaries with an article about what the Pesah story teaches us about social distancing today.
How to Curtail Pernicious Social Competition: The Legacy of Zelophehad and his Daughters
Ezra Zuckerman Sivan comments on the story of Zelophehad and his daughters.
Where is the Justice in the Tenth Plague?
Ezra Sivan asks: Where is the justice in the tenth plague?
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