November 23, 2023

Alt+SHIFT: Water, Creation, Immanence

R. Yakov Nagen’s prolific output includes books on the Mishna, spirituality, attitudes to other faiths, and a volume profiled here by Yitzchak Blau. Nagen combines academic tools with a search for religious meaning and he successfully integrates the worlds of mysticism and rationalism. This volume, beyond the specific thesis concerning the holiday of Sukkot, is methodologically interesting, arguing that philosophical explanations of mitzvot may seem like an overly speculative endeavor but demonstrating that we can utilize halakhic details to more rigorously establish a hashkafic interpretation.
November 21, 2023

Rabbi Sacks, Community, and Times of Crisis

We are anxious about an uncertain future and feel lonely as much of the world vilifies Israel and the Jewish people. These feelings are now the backdrop of many of our lives. While Israelis fight in Gaza, we all wrestle with the emotional agony of this war. Marc Eichenbaum explains that the wisdom of R. Jonathan Sacks (and much contemporary psychological research) teaches how to contend with our pain through embracing community.
November 19, 2023

New and Noteworthy Books

TRADITION’s seasonal roundup of noteworthy new titles in Jewish studies and learning, with offerings on biblical studies, teshuva, pregnancy loss, citrons and Cleveland, and more…
November 16, 2023

TRADITION QUESTIONS: What Does Unity Really Mean?

TRADITION QUESTIONS breaks from its usual format this week so Chaim Strauchler, reporting on his recent visit to Israel as part of an OU and RCA Rabbinic Mission, can focus on one of the biggest questions facing the Jewish world: In light of the crisis facing the State of Israel, and the apparent flourishing of Jewish unity—what is the most authentic form of such national unity that will most likely be long lasting?