Tag: Philosophy

Philo of Alexandria may rightly be called the first systematic Jewish philosopher, yet for many centuries his work was totally unknown to Jewish audiences. Dovid Cambpell argues for his continued relevance to modern Judaism.

Steven Gotlib reviews Sam Leben’s book A Guide for the Jewish Undecided: A Philosopher Makes the Case for Orthodox Judaism.

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.

Aton Holzer offers an existential perspective on the transition from Yom Kippur to Sukkot and applies some Heideggerian concepts to the festival of gathering.

In his latest for the Lehrhaus, Steven Gotlib reviews the recently published collection of essays, Strauss, Spinoza, and Sinai: Orthodox Judaism and Modern Questions of Faith, which tries to answer: is there a philosophical defense of Orthodoxy in the modern world?

Elinatan Kupferberg argues that the boundaries between Torah and Madda have blurred and evolved throughout Jewish intellectual history. This erudite analysis upends our assumptions about Torah u-Madda and breathtakingly reimagines its past, present, and future.

How can the mitzvot of Purim reveal the feminist ethics of the Megillah? Aton Holzer offers an enlightening new reading of the Megillah, suggesting that there is a profound connection between the text's structure and its ethics.

In this timely piece, David Fried analyzes Maimonides' explanation of the ma'aseh merkavah in light of the Talmud's strictures on its teaching outlined in Hagigah. Fried's analysis reveals how Maimonides changed course from the Aristotelianism that he posited at other points in his career.

In an enlightening new essay, Ilan Fuchs reviews Hayyim Rothman's recent book, No Masters but God: Portraits of Anarcho-Judaism, and uncovers what some of the most radical 19th century Orthodox political thinkers had to say about religion, statehood, and Jewish utopia.

Did Rav Soloveitchik buy into Nietzsche’s critique of religion? Alex Ozar reviews Daniel Rynhold and Michael Harris’s book, which surprisingly argues that the answer to this question is yes.