Cadets training to be IDF Rabbis

With Pain and With Might: Reserve Duty on the Northern Front

Gilad Goldberg describes the bewildering experience of reporting for emergency reserve duty on October 7.

Thoughts on Aliyah and the Akeidah from Israel at war

Alan Jotkowitz looks at the current situation in Israel through the lens of modern interpretations of the Akeidah.

Avraham and Sodom: To Pray Against God

Avraham’s challenge to God’s planned destruction of Sodom raises the fundamental ethical problem of collective punishment. The resolution of this challenge, Sruli Fruchter explains, enables Avraham to realize God’s highest ideals and to confront the conflict between compassion for oppressors and consideration for their victims.

Military Might as Reluctant Religious Virtue: The Bizarre Inclusion of Genesis 14 in Tanakh

Abraham’s participation in the war of the four kings against the five fits uncomfortably in the broader narrative of his life. Rabbi Mark Glass argues that this Abrahamic episode articulates a core Torah perspective on military might.

My War Diary

This war diary, presented by Susan Weingarten, relates her experience in a kibbutz on the Gazan border on October 7th and the days following her return to Jerusalem after the Hamas massacre.

Shechem, Place Of Brit

This week's Parashah introduces us to the city of Shechem. Tamar Weissman examines the various appearances of this city throughout Tanakh, explaining that while it is a city of rupture, it is also one of covenant and fraternity.

Noah and the Trauma of Heroic Destiny

Sruli Fruchter examines the story not often told about Noah—the trauma inflicted by immense responsibility amidst immense destruction.

Hevel: The Journey of an Intangible Word

Benjamin Barer traces the word Hevel through Jewish texts, showing how the use of the same word can teach us both about the wisdom of Kohelet we read this past Shabbat and the character of Hevel who we will read about in this week's Parashah.

Rabbi Lamm, Sukkot, and the Spiritual Perils of Materialism

Can we solve the growing problem of materialism in the Orthodox community? Tzvi Sinensky explains how Rabbi Norman Lamm’s Sukkot sermons shine some light on the matter

Istanis: Is it Ever Too Hot for Halakhah?

Moshe Kurtz looks as discomfort as a factor in Halakha