September 30, 2024

ARCHIVES: Rav Zevin on Yeshiva Draft

R. Shlomo Yosef Zevin (1890-1978) was universally recognized as one of the giants of Talmudic and halakhic scholarship. His iconoclastic combination of Haredi bone fides and Religious Zionism have made him the subject of great interest and no small amount of censorship. With the Jewish world’s ongoing wrestling with the exemption of Haredim from military service, R. Zevin’s 1948 essay “Regarding the Drafting of Yeshiva Students” has resurfaced as an object of interest. Read the English translation in the TRADITION Archives, and see how his questions and analysis are as germane today as they were at the State’s founding.
September 26, 2024

Unpacking the Iggerot: I.V. Treatment for Yom Kippur

How far does one need to go to fast on Yom Kippur? R. Moshe Feinstein was asked not how to be exempted from fasting, but how can we make ourselves obligated? Moshe Kurtz takes us on a tour of several responsa with relevance for the upcoming holidays and demonstrates R. Feinstein’s broader approach to the role of artificial intervention in the halakhic process and a life motivated by joy of mitzvot.
September 24, 2024

REVIEW: Jewish Customs

Jonathan Ziring reviews Zvi Ron’s “Jewish Customs: Exploring Common and Uncommon Minhagim” (Maggid Books) which dives into the fascinating evolution of Jewish traditions. Our reviewer says the book offers valuable historical insights and is worthwhile for anyone curious about the origins and authenticity of Jewish customs—yet raises questions about justifying how practices originating from outside of our culture can or cannot be “Judaized.” 
September 22, 2024

REVIEW: One Day in October

The Hebrew anthology “One Day in October” (Maggid Books), now released in an English translation, is a powerful collection of forty stories from October 7th that inspires and depresses, fills the reader with hope, as it makes him or her cry. Yitzchak Blau shows how editors Yair Agmon and Oriya Mevorach skillfully transformed these accounts into narrative chapters which will serve as a “first draft” in documenting the stories of Simhat Torah 5784.