Jacob’s Silence and the Rape of Dinah

Ari Silbermann examines one of the most traumatic events in the Torah.

Catastrophic Miracles and Miraculous Catastrophes: The Torah of Pregnancy in Tazria and Toldot

In her winning Ateret Zvi essay, Leah Sarna explores two simultaneously true stories about pregnancy: it is at once a beautiful, incredible miracle, and also a demanding journey, both physically and mentally, that often feels more like a catastrophe. Studying the Torah's accounts of pregnancy in Tazria and Rivkah's life, Sarna offers a moving analysis of what it means to hear, tell, and live these stories.

Inconsistencies in the Torah: Shamor vs. Zakhor

Gavriel Lakser explains how the change from Zakhor to Shamor is one of the earliest examples of Oral Torah.

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.

First Fruits (Bikkurim) and the Talmudic View of Capital: An Essai in the Philosophy...

Bezalel Naor explains what is philosophical about the erstwhile halakhic observances of the Shavuot holiday.

Azariah de Rossi’s Fascination with the Septuagint

What inspired Azariah de Rossi to take a work that cut against the grain of rabbinic views of the Septuagint and make it accessible to his Hebrew-reading fellow Jews?

The Torah’s Song

What is the meaning of a biblical song? Writing for Parshat Ha'azinu and in memory of her beloved cousin, Shira Shaindel Rodman (née Brilliant) z”l, Elana Stein Hain reviews Geula Twersky's theory of biblical poetry as portrayed in her 2022 book Torah Song.

The Sacrifice of Obedience

Shlomo Zuckier asks what we can learn from Shaul's mistakes in this week's Haftara.

Did the Prophet Amos Predict the Women’s Siyum Daf Yomi?

Yaakov Jaffe explains how Biblical grammar and parables come together in Amos to teach us about women's Talmud Torah.

In the Shadow of God: The Mishkan’s “Constructive” Theology

Ranana Dine compares Christian and Jewish views on the value of having a beautiful Temple.