March 18, 2021

The BEST: Chesterton’s “Orthodoxy”

G.K. Chesterton remains one of the great writers and communicators of modern religion, combining a journalist’s flair, the literary credentials of a first-rate author, and a theology deeply considered. Writing for this week's R. Sacks Bookshelves Project, Ben Crowne looks at points of contact between the Catholic Chesterton's writing in "Orthodoxy" and R. Sacks' role as a representative of a minority faith who could speak about religious identity to a nationwide audience.
March 16, 2021

ARCHIVES: Erev Pesach on Shabbat

When erev Pesach occurred on Shabbat in 1974 – as it will this year – it was the first time in 20 years that Jews worldwide confronted this phenomenon which presents a slew of halakhic challenges. Rabbi J. David Bleich was at the ready with a column in TRADITION’s  “Survey of Recent Halakhic Literature.” Here it is, fresh from our archives...
March 14, 2021

BOOK REVIEW: Faith and Freedom Haggadah

As we turn our attention to Passover, Yitzchak Rosenblum reviews the Eliezer Berkovits Haggadah, situating it within larger trends in that important 20th-century philosopher’s thought.
March 11, 2021

The BEST: A Secular Age

Writing for the R. Sacks Bookshelves project, Chaim Strauchler examines points of intersection between Charles Taylor's "A Secular Age" and Sacks' lifelong work showing that “human beings are meaning-seeking animals, and the search for meaning is constitutive of our humanity, and religion is the greatest heritage of our meanings.”
March 7, 2021

The Jonathan Sacks Haggada: Judaism Begins at Home

Erica Brown considers why R. Jonathan Sacks introduces his Haggada with an emphasis on the family as the heart of the Passover experience. “R. Sacks makes the case that the Seder, what he calls the oldest of Jewish rituals, takes place at home because Judaism attaches immense significance to the family.” Read the review essay and an excerpted chapter from “The Jonathan Sacks Haggada.”
March 4, 2021

The BEST: Democracy in America

R. Sacks observed the United States in the spirit of Alexis de Tocqueville – admiring its institutions but knowing he had a role in helping Americans (and citizens of the world) navigate liberal democracy, the market economy, and ever-advancing science and technology. Stuart Halpern presents “Democracy in America” in this week’s R. Sacks Bookshelves Project.
March 2, 2021

The Surprising Endurance of Va-Yoel Moshe’s Antizionism

“VaYoel Moshe” is the most long-lasting Antizionist tract. Understanding its impact is toed up with knowing something about its author, R. Yoel Teitelbaum. A new biography sheds light on the Satmar Rebbe and his work.
February 25, 2021

The BEST: Leonard Cohen

Daniel Rose explains the impact of Leonard Cohen’s music on R. Sacks -- for the R. Sacks Bookshelves Project. Hallelujah!
February 22, 2021

LETTER: Decision-Making in Acute Critical Illness

A response to our recent “A Halakhic Framework in Acute Critical Illness” by Judah Goldberg, and its rabbinic postscript by Rabbis Hershel Schachter and Mordechai Willig. Does emerging evidence require us to think differently about the effects of hydration, nutrition, and oxygen at the end of life?