The establishment of the Jewish State in 1948 introduced previously unimaginable questions for halakha and Jewish religious life — most relevantly in terms of statehood and governance. Aviad Tabory’s "State of Halakha" (Maggid Books) is best understood through its subtitle: “Israel’s history in Jewish law.” Sruli Fruchter, in reviewing the work, says the book shows that “halakha always has something to say. And in Israel’s case, we have the ability to listen.”

The recent republication of TRADITION’s twenty-five year-old symposium on “The Sea Change in American Orthodox Judaism” generated a “looking back” on the part of some of those original 35 authors. Marc D. Angel and Judith Bleich each stands by his and her opinions of a quarter century ago.

In "Perpetuating the Masorah" (Maggid Books & OU Press) we meet Rabbi Yitzhak, not Professor Isadore, Twersky—an expositor par excellence of Torat Hashem, delivering eternal wisdom to his faithful followers, not to his academic seminar room. That he could straddle these two worlds speaks volumes to his intellect and personality. Todd Berman reviews…