Machshavah — All Essays

Editorial, Machshavah

For those who have heard of him, Leo Strauss generally suffers from a negative reputation. To some, he is a political philosopher who rejected modernity in favor of classical antiquity. To others, he was the father of the Iraq war. To yeshiva students, Strauss is the heretic who disgraced the Mishneh Torah and made eternal The Guide of the Perplexed. However, I would like to study Strauss in another light…

Jan 28
Jan 28 How To Study The Beginning Of The "Guide Of The Perplexed:" Thoughts On Maimonides’ Philosophy Of Language

Like most other books, the Guide of the Perplexed is a book of words. Unlike most other books it is a book about words. Maimonides, in his Introduction to the First Part, claims to have two goals. The first goal is to explain the meaning of various terms occurring in the books of prophecy. The second purpose is to explain obscure parables occurring in the books of prophecy…

Jul 31
Jul 31 Epicurus: The Happy Apikores

Machshavah, History

Epicurus (341-270 BCE), one of the greatest thinkers of Ancient Greece, was known for his theory of the atomic universe, radical ethical philosophy, and his epistemology which included only material objects. However, perhaps less well known is Epicurus’ appearance in the thought of Chazal…

Mar 30
Mar 30 God, Otherness, & The End Of Utility: Rav Shagar On Korbanot

Levi Morrow

Machshavah, Chanukah

In honor of this week’s parashah, Vayikra, I have translated some excerpts from “Candle and Sacrifice”, a sermon given by Rav Shagar for Shabbat Hanukkah and published in “LeHa’ir Et HaPetahim.”

Feb 6
Feb 6 Elucidating A Selection From Tanya: What It Means To Educate A Child “According To His Way”

Chassidus, Machshavah

A Rabbi and mentor of mine once remarked to me that “the Book of Tanya is wasted on Chabad.” Tanya is a philosophical treatise on some of the most important and fundamental principles of Chassidus.

Feb 1
Feb 1 Sanctuary and Sacrifice: Rambam’s View of Korbanot

A short while ago, writing for The Times of Israel, in an open letter to God, R. Shmuly Yanklowitz claimed that the idea of animal sacrifice is outdated...

Sep 28
Sep 28 Some Teshuvah-Themed Lomdus

R. Moshe Shure

Halacha, Machshavah, Elul, Yom Kippur, Rosh HaShanah

There seems to be a dispute about the nature of teshuvah. The Semag (916) and Semak (57) state clearly that there is a mitzvah to do teshuvah and that part of this mitzvah is viduy, or confession...

Sep 26
Sep 26 Changing The Way We Look At Color

We are prone to think of color names in Hebrew as very specific and saturated hues of those colors. When you hear “red” you probably imagine a bright red color like that of a strawberry. In Hebrew, the word “adom” is usually translated as “red.”...

Sep 23
Sep 23 Parshas Ki Savo: The Destruction Of Amaleik As A Means To An End & The Real Work Of The High Holidays

Elul, Israel, Machshavah, Parsha, Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur

Last week’s parsha concludes with the commandment to destroy the nation of Amaleik. This week’s parsha begins by listing the unique mitzvos ha’teluyos ba’aretz, or the mitzvos that are only able to be fulfilled in the land of Israel, starting with bikkurim. Rashi often asks what the connection between two seemingly unrelated parshios is, but he is curiously silent here...

Sep 20
Sep 20 Tanakh & Its Readers: Between “The Philosophy Of Hebrew Scripture” & “The Guide For The Perplexed”

Levi Morrow

Machshavah, Tanach

As Yoram Hazony’s “The Philosophy of Hebrew Scripture” (PHS) was published in 2012, I am a little late to the party in reviewing it. However, I think there is still what to say that has not been said, and I hope to present some of that here...

Jul 25
Jul 25 Gematria: It’s Not Numerology

The only thing I can claim to know about numerology is how strange it is...

Jul 11
Jul 11 6 Things You Might Not Know About Torah

I’m not very good at being “yeshivish” or “modern”. Let me now attempt to argue a point to bridge these associations that I don’t particularly relate to...

Apr 5
Apr 5 Knowing The Unknowable (Part 1): Introduction

Knowledge Of God, God, Machshavah

Being the Chosen People makes epistemology surprisingly relevant. How do we know what the truth is? How do we know what to do? What is emunah anyway? Since this is a gigantic topic, I want to provide here but a digest of the questions involved and then offer a perspective I hope will be true (no pun intended)...

Mar 31
Mar 31 Hashgacha Pratis (Conclusion): How Do We View The Events Of Our Lives?

Hashgacha, Machshavah

Given our extensive study of the various major primary sources in relation to the topic of hashgacha pratis, let’s recap what we now know...

Mar 16
Mar 16 Sports Is Idolatrous

Anonymous

Machshavah, Editorial

Recently, hundreds of people gathered in downtown Detroit to watch two cats fighting over a piece of meat. Individual participants painted themselves to represent respective cats, alcohol was in abundance, fights broke out, and endless dollars were spent on being able to witness this incredible display of sociality and achievement. By the time the blue-eyed calico cat had won, all felt much better about themselves, the calico, and the general state of the universe...

Mar 15
Mar 15 Torah Lishmah & The Introduction To “Iglei Tal”

Avi Borgen

Avraham Borenstein was born in Bendin, Poland in 1840. His ancestors included prominent Rabbis such as Ramah and the Shach. Originally a chassid of the Kotzker Rebbe, after the Rebbe passed away he became a Gerrer chassid under the Chidushei HaRim (who also happened to be his uncle)...

Mar 10
Mar 10 Art & Science Don’t Exist

Machshavah, God

Whatever you think of generally as “nature” in the physical sense is most likely either tending toward a pantheistic or transcendentalist/deist conception. Allow me to explain...

Mar 3
Mar 3 A Different Way Of Understanding Moshe’s Request To Be Erased From God’s Book

Machshavah, Parsha

In the aftermath of the Sin of the Golden Calf, Moshe does something seemingly inexplicable: he argues with God. Certainly, God has no temperament nor lack of reason. The very concept of arguing with God is something of a contradiction in terms...

Feb 25
Feb 25 Hashgacha Pratis (Part 8): The Ramban That Most Get Wrong