Latest Essays
Sukkot, the Temple, and the Messianic Controversy
Sukkot, the Temple, and the Messianic Controversy
“May the All-Merciful One reestablish the fallen sukkah of [King] David” הרחמן הוא יקים לנו את סוכת דוד הנופלת — from the Grace after Meals of Sukkot.
Rosh Hashanah: Celebrating the Creation of the Individual or the Community?
Rosh Hashanah: Celebrating the Creation of the Individual or the Community?
God creates “the human... male and female” (Genesis 1), which we typically understand to mean the first human couple. However, a look at the creation of other species in the same chapter suggests otherwise.
Meat or Murder?
Meat or Murder?
The Torah first describes a world that is created to be vegetarian. It is only after the Flood that humans were allowed to eat meat. Leviticus restricts meat consumption to the sacrificial offerings only, whereas Deuteronomy permits even non-consecrated meat. How do we understand the tension between these approaches?
Authorship of the Torah: The Position of Ibn Ezra and Yehuda HaChasid
Authorship of the Torah: The Position of Ibn Ezra and Yehuda HaChasid
A yeshiva student asks: Is it permissible to believe that parts of the Torah were written after the time of Moses?