Scholarship

Avi Garson traces the rise and fall of the classical Sephardic tradition and calls for a renewed return to its fundamental principles.

Steven Gotlib reviews Eugene Korn’s To Be a Holy People: Jewish Tradition and Ethical Values, a book which asks hard questions about whether Halakhah can integrate with the demands of contemporary ethics.

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.

What do the wisdom of traditional Jewish texts and the recent findings of modern psychology have in common? Marc Eichenbaum finds commonalities in both to promote a character-driven approach to Jewish education.

Natan Levin examines King David’s character through a close reading of his narratives in the Book of Samuel.

Who was Monsieur Shoshani, the mysterious and brilliant teacher of some of the greatest 20th century Jewish thinkers? A new look into recently published notebooks of this important figure may help solve the puzzle. David Lang, Yoel Finkelman, and Admiel Kosman offer a commentary and analysis of one such enigmatic passage.

How successful is the new book, Reclaiming Dignity: A Guide to Tzniut for Men and Women, at setting forth a new Torah-based vision for modesty? Laurie Novick offers a careful review, carefully considering both the personal essays and halakhic/hashkafic analyses set forward in this important work.

Moshe Kurtz explores several halakhic questions concerning the recitation of kaddish for the deceased, all of which point to a larger discussion about how one can confer merit on someone else.

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

Responding to Tamar Ross’s article from two weeks ago, Steven Gotlib argues for a more traditional understanding of Divine Revelation.