A “What If” Review: Hypothetical History, Science, and Halakhah

Yaakov Taubes examines three hypothetical “What if?” books and what they can teach us about history, science, and halakhah.

What are the Essential Questions and Structures of Talmud Study?

Yaakov Jaffe responds to David Stein's earlier call to revamp the standard day school Talmud curriculum.

Torah u-Madda’s Moment

Stu Halpern weighs in on the eternal wisdom Torah u-Madda offers the world during the fraught times in which we live.

Theologically Speaking: God, Language, and the Maggid of Mezritsh

Is God revealed through our speech? In his review of Ariel Evan Mayse’s Speaking Infinities, Steven Gotlib explores this question in the thought of the Maggid of Mezritch.

Contagious Disease, Moral Behavior, and Prayer: Bava Kama Today 

How did the Talmud look at plagues? Miriam Reisler offers a close reading of a key halakhic and narrative section of Bava Kama.

Was God Angry at Sarah?

Ben Greenfield God isn’t angry with Sarah, when she laughs at the idea of birthing a child in her old age (Gen. 18:12-15). God is...

Hippocratic Healthcare and Christian Absolutism: Can Halakhah Allow for Compassionate Euthanasia?

Leead Staller argues for a more nuanced approach to euthanasia in Halakha.

The Pregnant Sotah: A Case Study in the Ethics of Abortion

Yisroel Ben-Porat grapples with whether the case of the pregnant Sotah has implications for the debates surrounding abortion.

Insanity and Hope

Warren Zev Harvey reflects on the pain and fear of Israel’s current moment, finding unexpected hope in R. Joseph Kaspi’s anti-deterministic theory of history. The essay was originally published in Hebrew and translated by the author.

Hillel’s Living God

Tzvi Sinensky offers a fresh look at one of Rabbinic Judaism's most important mottos.