September 22, 2022
Published by Tradition Online at September 22, 2022
The TRADITION Podcast takes a look back at our “The BEST” column, marking 150 entries, and surveying some of the themes in general culture which potentially inspire us to live better. Marina Zilbergerts, Dov Lerner, and Chaim Strauchler discuss the challenges and opportunities of harnessing worldly culture in the service of religious life. They also consider questions of instrumentalism, the decline of the liberal arts, and the recent “New York Times” expose on Hasidic yeshivot.
September 19, 2022
Published by Jeffrey Saks at September 19, 2022
TRADITION's Spring 2022 is now available open access online. Read the recently unearthed, never-before published "Asmodeus Letter"; consider a comparison between Kuzari and Catholic philosophy; explore Ramban's inventive marshaling of biblical metaphor; dive into the legends (and urban legends) of Napoleon's reported meetings with great rabbis; study Rav Hutner's psychological insights to human greatness -- and more.
September 15, 2022
Published by Tradition Online at September 15, 2022
Ephraim Fruchter writes on Charles Lamb’s “Grace Before Meat” for this week’s The BEST: If the essential aim of a benediction is appreciation, “Grace Before Meat” claims that the prosperous cannot hit the target. Only the poor and children can truly appreciate food’s value. How do the early 19th-century essayist’s ideas resonate with our own conception of blessings?
September 12, 2022
Published by Tradition Online at September 12, 2022
In advance of the once-in-seven-year signing of the prozbul, Shlomo Brody joins the TRADITION Podcast to discuss his recent TRADITION essay “The Curious Case of Prozbul’s Disappearance and Resurgence” – a fascinating test-case that raises interesting questions about how and if halakha adapts and evolves.
September 8, 2022
Published by Tradition Online at September 8, 2022
Chaim Strauchler writes on Adam Smith’s classic “The Wealth of Nations” for The BEST: Each person acting in his own self-interest “conquers” the world – as God tasked Adam I. With this ingenuity, humanity acting together constitutes “the invisible hand” – a combination of the human and something almost divine.
September 5, 2022
Published by Tradition Online at September 5, 2022
TRADITION’s seasonal roundup of noteworthy new titles in Jewish studies and learning, with offerings on Shabbat’s challenge and contribution to the modern world, mental health and halakha, Hebrew and Yiddish literature, the history of Talmud printing and Hasidic sermons, and more….
September 1, 2022
Published by Tradition Online at September 1, 2022
David Curwin, writing for The BEST, sees a life lesson in juxtaposing the films “Saving Private Ryan” (1998) with “The Irishman” (2019): “The end of each film, with the perspective of decades after those pivotal events, implies that it was the protagonists’ private lives, not their public roles, that really mattered.”
August 30, 2022
Published by Jeffrey Saks at August 30, 2022
Today, 3 Elul, marks the 87th yahrzeit of Rav Avraham Yitzhak HaKohen Kook zt”l. As one of the most significant Jewish thinkers of the modern era it is no surprise that his works have been analyzed, reviewed, and translated in the pages of TRADITION over the years. Visit our archives....
August 28, 2022
Published by Tradition Online at August 28, 2022
With the arrival of Rosh Hodesh Elul we enter the month of “mercy and forgiveness.” Among the season’s most well-known but challenging customs is the recitation of Selihot. The publication of a new edition of these penitential prayers and piyutim, with an introduction and insightful commentary by Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter, will enhance our recitation of the Selihot for generations to come. In this excerpt R. Schacter explores themes related to the meaning and force of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy – the central experience of the Selihot prayers.