All Essays — Daf Aleph

William James, Harvard philosopher and psychologist, is often called the father of American psychology...

Mar 8
Mar 8 Some Personal Thoughts On, Problems With, & Challenges To Chassidus

Chassidus, Editorial

Before we begin, I would like to point out that many true gedolim, whose seforim are universally recognized and studied, belonged to the Chasidic movement...

Feb 27
Feb 27 Lights Of Culture: Out Here In The Fields

Whenever thinking about or relating to the natural beauty of this world in a spiritual sense, the words of Maimonides come to mind...

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

Devir Kahan

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

Dovid Schwartz

Machshavah

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for The Times of Israel, in an open letter to God, R. Shmuly Yanklowitz claimed that the idea of animal sacrifice is outdated...

Jan 30
Jan 30 Belief In God: Where To Begin

Binny Lewis

Belief In God

Before we can determine whether it makes sense to have belief in God — and whether belief in God is something that we do or do not want — we must first ask two fundamental questions...

Jan 24
Jan 24 A Jewish Perspective On Monarchy

Shoshana Rozenberg

Nach

Shmuel I (8:4-22) relays the story of the Jewish elders coming to the prophet, Shmuel, and requesting a king be appointed over the Jewish nation. The request seems benign enough, but, interestingly, Shmuel becomes completely enraged upon receiving it...

Jan 23
Jan 23 No Fear Biblical Criticism: Concluding Thoughts

Levi Morrow

Bible Criticism

The time has come to bring this series to a close. The seventh essay in a series written across most of three years, it’s safe to say that this has been a long time coming...

Dec 28
Dec 28 What Would The Chashmonaim Think Of Us?

Chanukah

As we celebrate Chanukah I would like to share some words of my old mashgiach, and elaborate on what he meant. He used to ask us to think about which side of the fight we really would have been on: the side of the Chashmonaim, or the side of the Yevanim?

Dec 22
Dec 22 The Story Of Purim: Miracle Or Political Game? — A Response

Editorial, Purim

Recently, a supposedly Orthodox Jewish professor made the astonishing claim that the Purim story was in no way miraculous, nor the result of any Divine intervention, but was instead a story of pure political maneuvering and luck...

Dec 21
Dec 21 Educating For Desire: A Lesson From Dante & Rav Kook

We could sense that the shiur was nearing a close. It had been, as usual, a tour de force of emotion and insight that characterized these once-weekly gatherings of the entire Yeshiva...

Dec 20
Dec 20 The Creation of Morality: God’s Goodness & Goodness’ God

Dovid Schwartz

Morality

As English speakers, we use the word “good” in different ways. We use “good” to mean “enjoyable”: a good show, a good game, a good book...

Dec 13
Dec 13 The Kollel System & Four Rabbinic Responses To The Enlightenment

Parsha, Community, Editorial

This week’s parsha speaks of Yaakov’s meeting with Esav. Chazal teach us that we should learn from Yaakov how to relate to, and interact with, the nations of the world...

Dec 9
Dec 9 Re-Examining The Permissibility Of The Kollel System In Light Of Rambam’s Disparaging Comments

Parsha, Editorial

My Rosh Yeshiva would always give a talk during the week of Parshas Vayeitzei about the importance of staying to learn in yeshiva for extra time...

Nov 23
Nov 23 Actually Giving Thanks

Eliezer Berger

Editorial, Community

I'd like to be clear that this is a prose offering of thanks to HaShem Yisbarach rather than a glorification of America or a desire to stay here forever. We must know what to take with us when we leave...

Nov 17
Nov 17 Mesillat Yesharim & Wasting Your Life