Tomorrow, Ta’anit Esther, 11 Adar II, marks the 57th yahrzeit of Mrs. Tonya Soloveitchik, whom her husband described in the pages of TRADITION as “A woman of great courage, sublime dignity, total commitment, and uncompromising truthfulness.” Mrs. Soloveitchik’s achievements on behalf of Jewish life and education have not been widely known or appreciated in the wider Orthodox community. We were pleased to offer a corrective to the historical record with Dr. Tovah Lichtenstein’s portrait of her mother, “Mrs. Soloveitchik: A Biographical Sketch.”

While the Jewish People in Israel and worldwide have benefitted from a high level of unity since the despicable events of October 7th and throughout the ongoing traumas of the war, after nearly half a year, regrettable, unnecessary, and painful cracks are emerging. Among the most divisive issues perennially facing the State is the question of the blanket exemption of Haredim from military or national service. The recent remarks by Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef concerning this issue generated much angry response in the country. “If they force us to join the army, we will all move abroad,” said the Rishon LeZion. In response, Rabbi Tamir Granot, father of Amitai z”l, who was killed in defense of the country in the early days of the war, issued a heartfelt message in which he addresses both R. Yosef and the Haredi world on the right, as well as liberal secularists on his left.

In this profile of R. Hershel Schacter’s new book, “Divrei Soferim,” R. Yona Reiss discusses the volume’s nuanced treatment of the multiple facets of the Oral Torah, including the hermeneutical principles employed by the Talmud, and its relationship to the Written Torah. Reiss suggests that the book helps its readers develop a deeper understanding of this relationship and acts toward strengthening the “Masora,” a lifelong concern for R. Schachter.

The great twentieth-century Yemenite sage and scholar, Rabbi Amram Korah (1871-1952), left behind an important work on Rav Saadia Gaon’s tenth-century Tafsir, his Torah commentary and biblical translation to Judeo-Arabic. Nahem Ilan has now produced the first full edition with useful annotations and introduction. Carmiel Cohen, in reviewing the book, shows how Ilan unlocks Korah’s gateway to the thought and writing of R. Saadia.