May 19, 2024
Published by Tradition Online at May 19, 2024
Michael Eisenberg recently discussed his Tradition Today Summit essay with Yaakov Wolff at the Shtark Tank podcast. The essay and conversation center on Eisenberg’s concept of “Covenantal Capitalism” and how Jewish values have shaped his career and investing. They also discuss ways in which Torah concepts concerning economic values are best, perhaps only, able to be implemented in modern Israel. Listen to this cross-posted conversation.
May 16, 2024
Published by Tradition Online at May 16, 2024
The current dramatic rise in antisemitism raises questions about the nature of the phenomenon. Examining claims that it is not a typical hatred but a conspiracy theory, TRADITION’s associate editor Chaim Strauchler uses the idea of an anti-story to connect the Jewish story and its opposite.
May 14, 2024
Published by Jeffrey Saks at May 14, 2024
As we observe Yom HaAtzmaut TRADITION is proud to release this open-access version of R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s “Jewish Sovereignty and the Redemption of the Shekhina” – a manuscript originally prepared in Yiddish and delivered by the Rav at the 1948 Mizrachi Convention, just weeks after the establishment of the State of Israel.
May 13, 2024
Published by Tradition Online at May 13, 2024
From “War and Destruction” to “Pain Not Even Satan Could Create,” Israeli popular music reflects changing moods toward the current war. What began with self-assurance about the IDF’s strength and inevitable victory has drifted to address the fear, pain, and loss that accompany any war, certainly this one. As we approach Yom HaZikaron, Yoel Finkelman shows how Israeli music calls upon us to live up to the memory of our friends, neighbors, and family who will not return.
May 9, 2024
Published by Tradition Online at May 9, 2024
Does halakha care about our feelings? This might be one of those instances where it actually depends on the context. In the fourth installment of “Unpacking the Iggerot,” Moshe Kurtz investigates to what extent kavod ha-beriyot, human dignity, plays a role in R. Moshe Feinstein’s halakhic decision-making.
May 6, 2024
Published by Tradition Online at May 6, 2024
TRADITION vol. 56 no. 2 (Spring 2024) has arrived as a special issue delivering the papers presented at last year's “Tradition Today Summit” exploring the spiritual challenges of material success, edited by Jeffrey Saks and Shlomo Zuckier. Subscribers can access the entire issue online; others can read select open-access content.
May 5, 2024
Published by Tradition Online at May 5, 2024
In his sophisticated and immensely erudite new book of essays, Daniel Sperber argues powerfully that it is difficult to justify eating meat produced by modern industrial farming methods, on grounds of both kashrut and ethics. Yedidya Sinclair suggests that Sperber's book makes a strong case for the interwovenness of ethics with the halakhot of kashrut, persuasively arguing that ecology and environmentalism should be higher priorities in the Jewish world.
May 2, 2024
Published by Tradition Online at May 2, 2024
The Hebrew anthology “One Day in October” 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 Oriyah Mevorach skillfully transformed these accounts into narrative chapters which will serve as a “first draft” in documenting the stories of Simhat Torah 5784.
April 25, 2024
Published by Jeffrey Saks at April 25, 2024
As we mark the Rav's yahrzeit on 18 Nissan (Friday, April 26) we revisit last year's special issue marking his 120th birthday and 30th year since his passing. With the goal of honoring Rabbi Soloveitchik's myriad contributions to the spiritual and intellectual life of our community and the Jewish world, last year TRADITION released as a special 230-page exploring his legacy. The issue, edited by Jeffrey Saks, containing essays by leading figures in the world of Jewish life and ideas, focuses on the wide-ranging areas of R. Soloveitchik's writing, assessing his lasting contributions to Jewish thought through the prism of his prolific works. The full issue is available online or order your print copy now. Contributing authors: Mali Brofsky, Shalom Carmy, Zev Eleff, Yocheved Friedman, Nathaniel Helfgot, Yaakov Jaffe, Tovah Lichtenstein, Levi Morrow, Mark Smilowitz, Alex Sztuden, and Shlomo Zuckier.