January 29, 2023
Published by Jeffrey Saks at January 29, 2023
Today (January 29) marks the 120th birthday of Yeshayahu Leibowitz -- one of the most iconoclastic and controversial Jewish thinkers of the 20th century. Read works from the pages of TRADITION penned by Leibowitz and about him which remind us that he remains a compelling, original voice for those attempting to understand Jewish life, philosophy, and polity in Israel during the better part of the twentieth century.
January 26, 2023
Published by Jeffrey Saks at January 26, 2023
The mass of Israelis trekking to Uman for Rosh Hashana includes secularists, National Religious types, Sefardim, Haredim, and Hasidim of nearly every variety. In his interesting book, Dr. Moshe Weinstock analyzes this phenomenon and provides important insight to help understand how the pilgrimage is a reflection of trends in Israeli society. Yitzchak Blau poses questions about it in this week’s Alt+SHIFT.
January 22, 2023
Published by Tradition Online at January 22, 2023
Michael J. Harris joins the TRADITION Podcast to discuss his recently published essay, “Resultant Moral Luck and Jewish Tradition,” asking if we should judge people by their intentions, for good or for ill, or by the results of those intentions? He discusses the many significant sources within rabbinic literature that can be brought to bear on this important topic in Moral Philosophy.
January 19, 2023
Published by Tradition Online at January 19, 2023
Surveying a recent issue of the Hebrew periodical “Deot,” Yitzchak Blau continues to “translate” contemporary Hebrew commentary on communal concerns in our Alt+SHIFT series. In this installment he looks at writers who question the effectiveness of merging conservative cultural thought and Religious Zionism.
January 17, 2023
Published by Jeffrey Saks at January 17, 2023
TRADITION 54:3 (Summer 2022), with a special section on Jewish Universalism, has just been released as an open-access issue. Also in this issue: The curious case of Prozbul's disappearance and reemergence; cannabis kashrut questions; R. Esriel Hildesheimer on women's Torah education; the relationship between fear and trust in Tanakh and classical commentaries; and book reviews. Peruse the Table of Contents and start reading this particularly engaging installment of the Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought.
January 15, 2023
Published by Tradition Online at January 15, 2023
TRADITION’s seasonal roundup of noteworthy new titles in Jewish studies and learning, with offerings on the case for Orthodoxy, the philosophy of the Siddur and of the Shalosh Regalim, 13th-century Jewish moral lessons, and more.
January 12, 2023
Published by Tradition Online at January 12, 2023
In this week’s Alt+SHIFT, “translating” trends in Israeli intellectual life from right to left, Yitzchak Blau presents ideas from Chaim Navon’s Jewish critique of postmodernism’s most deleterious effects of civilization. We each choose our own destiny, but we attempt to abandon our “communities of fate” at our own peril.
January 8, 2023
Published by Jeffrey Saks at January 8, 2023
Can artificial intelligence generate an interpretation of “The Lonely Man of Faith”? Can it do so as a rap battle? Do we want it to? Ned Krasnopolsky consulted with the oracle of ChatGPT. Read his results.
January 5, 2023
Published by Tradition Online at January 5, 2023
Continuing his discussion of the Hardal world, Yitzchak Blau’s newest installment of Alt+SHIFT profiles some of the writings of R. Tzvi Tau. Blau calls out a worldview that sees all ideological opponents as sinister people without redeeming qualities attempting to destroy Jewish values.