October 3, 2022
Published by Jeffrey Saks at October 3, 2022
The goral (casting of lots) takes a central role on Yom Kippur – from the method the high priest used to select which goat should be sent to the desert, to the sailors’ use of goral to determine that Jonah was the cause of the storm. Some think goral reveals a divine truth, but David Curwin presents another perspective in which the goral is actually a random role of the dice which allows us to achieve our spiritual goals for the holiest of days.
October 2, 2022
Published by Tradition Online at October 2, 2022
What does Rabbi Akiva’s famous teaching at the end of Yoma have to do with Yom Kippur? And how can it help us understand the purpose of the day? Shlomo Zuckier explores these questions with a literary reading of the final Mishna in Yoma.
September 29, 2022
Published by Tradition Online at September 29, 2022
Chaim Strauchler looks to Matthew Arnold and Rav Kook for the ultimate and integrated whole toward which “the best that has been thought and said” might lead—namely one’s best self. As” The BEST” column heads off for a hiatus, Strauchler reflects on what we have been doing in 150 installments and what we hope you’ve gained from the effort.
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….