Why You Need to Read Daniel Deronda

Shalva Muschel offers some perspective on George Elliot's leading Jews and the newest attempt to gain a fuller appreciation of Daniel Deronda.

Hokhmat Nashim

Ayelet Wenger on women and Torah and Talmud and some things (that get) in between.
Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein

Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein and Academic Talmud Study

Rami Reiner breaks new ground, analyzing Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein's view of academic Jewish studies.

Letters to the Editor: Responses to Michael Broyde on Time-bound Commandments

Two readers respond to Michael Broyde's recent article on time-bound commandments. Leah Sarna critiques Broyde's omission of female scholarship, and Avi Siegal argues that Broyde's unifying theory skews the data.

Praying for Governments We Dislike?

Historian Jonathan Sarna places a recent decision by an Orthodox synagogue to modify the "prayer for the government" into sharp historical focus.

On Nehama’s Yahrzeit, Thinking About Zeitgeists

What was on Nehama Leibowitz's bookshelf? Her authoritative biographer tells all, just in time for Nehama's 20th Yahrtzeit.

On the Irrelevance of Biblical Criticism

Commentary by @Jerome Marcus: why biblical criticism directs our attention to the wrong way to read any good book, never mind The Good Book.

A Call for Order: Maimonides and the Mishnah

Yaakov Taubes explores the background to Maimonides’s explanation for how the Mishnah is ordered.

Bringing Back Torah u-Madda

Yaakov Bieler details several reasons why Torah u-Madda remains important to our role as Torah Jews and some practical ways we can implement this approach.

Mitzvah Merchants and their Made-in-America Toys

Zev Eleff examines some of the toys peddled around by mitzvah merchants and other fascinating features of Ultra-Orthodox culture.