July 8, 2021

The BEST: On the Social Contract

Rousseau’s “Social Contract” does not alienate the individual’s power of self-government, but preserves it in elevated form. Society forms not to avoid violence, but so that individuals can better meet the challenges of living through collaboration, innovation, and shared knowledge. It’s Rabbi Sacks’ concept of a politics of “We instead of Me” writes Isaac Fried in this week’s The BEST.
July 6, 2021

The Fate of Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh

Yaakov Blau presents a “sugya approach” to offer a richer view of Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh’s fate—the story of a towering figure of talmudic creativity who ultimately forgot his learning.
July 4, 2021

REVIEW: The Book of Moses and the Shapiro Scroll

The recent appearance of “The Valediction of Moses” by Idan Dershowitz gained widespread attention in the popular press worldwide – an unusual feat for a work of biblical scholarship published by an academic press. Dershowitz claims that a Dead Sea scroll containing passages of Deuteronomy, long regarded as a famous forgery, is in fact an authentic copy and the oldest extant biblical text. R. Yoel Bin-Nun helps us make sense of the matter…
July 1, 2021

TRADITION’s 2021 Book Endorsements – Part III

TRADITION wraps up this year’s installment of our Editorial Board’s selections for recommended summer reading. Read the third and final round of recommendations – and discover the winner of our contest to predict the most picks!