Eli Rubin's “Kabbalah and the Rupture of Modernity” (Stanford University Press) presents a groundbreaking study of Chabad Hasidism. Through close readings of primary texts, historical analysis, and engagement with modern philosophy, Rubin, a scholar and Chabad insider, traces the historical evolution of the movement’s theology. Todd Berman shows that the result is an indispensable work for anyone wanting to better understand Chabad's intellectual and historical trajectory.

Outside the Orthodox Jewish world, discussion of the high cost of living focuses on housing costs, rather than on tuition. Yoni Appelbaum’s “Stuck” (Random House) discusses how the American housing shortage came to be, and its negative social consequences. Nathan Kasimer considers its applicability and impact on the economics of Orthodox Jewish communities.

Before October 7, 2023, conventional thinking was that Israel had abandoned its pioneering ethos of self-sacrifice on behalf of the larger community—just another victim of rising affluence and liberal, Western individualism. Moshe Weinstock charts the return of repressed values of collective responsibility, which have lain dormant as part of a national, Jewish “deep consciousness,” now awoken during these many long months of war. 

Jerusalem is described in Eikha as a lonely city. In advance of Tisha B’Av, Erica Brown examines the theme of loneliness in the book’s first chapter set against the pandemic of loneliness researchers decry today and questions if “the lonely city” metaphor is useful of debilitating in describing Israel’s current alienation.

With the goal of honoring and exploring the intellectual contributions of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt”l, TRADITION  will publish a special book-length issue containing essays by rabbinic, educational, and thought leaders in our community from the United States, Israel, the United Kingdom, and around the world. Join your name to this tribute with a sponsorship donation.

TRADITION’s Summer issue is making its way to subscribers’ mailboxes and is available online. Highlights include Noah Cheses on the challenges of delivering bad news; Tamar Weissman on the power of place in the Book of Judges; Jason Weiner on anti-aging interventions in Jewish law and thought; book reviews on Hungarian Orthodoxy, halakha and mental health, C.S. Lewis and the Jews, and more.