TRADITION 56:4 (Fall 2024) is wending its way to subscribers’ mailboxes in time for the upcoming holidays. Visit TraditionOnline to view the full table of contents for the issue and sample select open-access content particularly appropriate for the upcoming season: Neti Penstein on “Forgiveness: A Philosophical Analysis of the Halakhic Sources,” and Ari Schaffer reviewing two new books on the Etrog in halakha and botany, and in culture, history, and literature.

R. Shlomo Yosef Zevin (1890-1978) was universally recognized as one of the giants of Talmudic and halakhic scholarship. His iconoclastic combination of Haredi bone fides and Religious Zionism have made him the subject of great interest and no small amount of censorship. With the Jewish world’s ongoing wrestling with the exemption of Haredim from military service, R. Zevin’s 1948 essay “Regarding the Drafting of Yeshiva Students” has resurfaced as an object of interest. Read the English translation in the TRADITION Archives, and see how his questions and analysis are as germane today as they were at the State’s founding.

Jonathan Ziring reviews Zvi Ron’s “Jewish Customs: Exploring Common and Uncommon Minhagim” (Maggid Books) which dives into the fascinating evolution of Jewish traditions. Our reviewer says the book offers valuable historical insights and is worthwhile for anyone curious about the origins and authenticity of Jewish customs—yet raises questions about justifying how practices originating from outside of our culture can or cannot be “Judaized.” 

As we approach Simhat Torah and one turn around the calendar since last year’s trauma, how should we adjust our upcoming prayers and celebrations? Avraham Stav considers what it means to cycle through the familiarity of the Jewish year and its holidays when even the familiar returns to us with alienation.