December 23, 2021

The BEST: Self-Reliance

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” is an enduring and eloquent examination of that most American of virtues: individualism. Since the essential human being is the private self, how do we square the essay's teachings with a religious life of community and contribution to the other? Jeffrey Saks re-reads “Self-Reliance,” with its echoes in the Rav and the Reb, in this week’s The BEST.
December 21, 2021

REVIEW: Rabbi Ido Pachter’s Utopian Dream

Ido Pachter’s recent Hebrew manifesto “Diversity in Judaism” puts forth an interesting, if not problematic, vision for the place of halakha in modern Israeli society. Avi Baumol applauds Pachter’s push to create a fairer halakhic system—but cautions that reaching for utopia may lead to a far more dystopian result.
December 19, 2021

PODCAST: R. Yitzhak Twersky Between Law and Spirit

Join professors Carmi Horowitz and Jeffrey Woolf for a wide-ranging podcast conversation about the life and legacy of Rabbi Prof. Yitzhak (Isadore) Twersky zt”l, as reflected in the recent collection of essays, edited by Horowitz and reviewed by Woolf in TRADITION’s recent issue.
December 16, 2021

The BEST: In a Different Voice

Carol Gilligan’s "In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development" changed the way moral theory and psychology recognize different voices. Stephen Glicksman explains why this matters to everyone – and uses Gilligan's work to underline the various implications of the role of women in Jewish thought and communal life – in this week’s “The BEST.”
December 13, 2021

Remembering Rav Henkin

Today (9 Tevet) marks the first yahrzeit of R. Yehuda Herzl Henkin zt”l. Revisit content exploring his legacy published in TRADITION during this last year.
December 12, 2021

Where Are All the Women? 

Erica Brown wonders why women have been slow to return to shul post-COVID, and cautions our community about what’s lost when one side of the mehitza remains empty.
December 9, 2021

The BEST: The Will to Believe

William James’ essay “The Will to Believe” is a critique of purely evidential approaches to belief. In David Shatz’s reading, it offers a crucially relevant point about the place of emotions in choices about belief today and grants license to “go for it” – in this week’s “The BEST.”
December 7, 2021

Rupture and Reconstruction Revisited and Republished

The arrival of Haym Soloveitchik’s “Rupture and Reconstruction” in book form is noteworthy for its author’s response to those who have commented on what he wrote over a quarter-century ago, including TRADITION’s Fall 2019 symposium, “Rupture and Reconstruction Reconsidered” – now available as a free e-book.
December 3, 2021

Mrs. Cooperman’s Shabbat

Mrs. Cooperman wishes all readers of TRADITION a good Shabbos Rosh Hodesh Hannuka! Revisit her classic wisdom for this Shabbat in the timeless essay of our esteemed editor emeritus, Rabbi Emanuel Feldman.