September 6, 2021
Published by Tradition Online at September 6, 2021
In reading the account of Kind David’s repentance through the prism of Psalm 51—"The Song of Repentance”—Judith Bleich offers lessons of teshuva and the manner in which we should engage in the repentance process with contrition, sincerity, and humbled hearts.
September 5, 2021
Published by Tradition Online at September 5, 2021
With the arrival this week of the shemitta year our minds turned to the variety of once-in-7-year halakhot we must review, whether we dwell in Zion or abroad. However, Rav Kook urged us to view shemitta as enabling a renewed connection to the divine life-force in each individual and within humanity as a whole. His teachings are presented and explored in a new, English edition of “Shabbat Ha’aretz” prepared by Yedidya Sinclair.
September 2, 2021
Published by Tradition Online at September 2, 2021
TRADITION shares this year’s High Holiday Reader dedicated to the thought of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z”l. Rosh Hashana is a time to think broadly of Hashem’s world and our place within it and Rabbi Sacks’ model is a most worthwhile framework for such thinking. In these pages you will encounter our writers presenting “The BEST” that has been thought and said in a wide array of cultural objects, and understand how their consumption is potentially profitable to us as thinking, spiritual and religious beings.
August 30, 2021
Published by Tradition Online at August 30, 2021
When it comes to history, language, and liturgy, some are content to read what other scholars have written. Mitchell First’s inquisitiveness compels him to research the issues themselves, and share the results with the rest of us – to our benefit, says David Curwin in reviewing two new works from Kodesh Press.
August 26, 2021
Published by Tradition Online at August 26, 2021
Michael Sandel’s “Liberalism and the Limits of Justice” offers a criticism of unfettered individualism, and does so in the language of liberalism itself. Sam Lebens, writing for The BEST, reminds us that R. Sacks realized more vividly than others that the communitarian critique of liberalism resonates deeply with Rabbinic sources because Judaism is a religion rooted in our tribal or national identity.
August 23, 2021
Published by Tradition Online at August 23, 2021
Unlike many other works exploring Israel’s international relations, Emmanuel Navon does not begin with the founding of the nation or the emergence of political Zionism; instead, he starts with God’s selection of Abraham as the founding father of His great nation. This makes his book even more valuable, says Sruli Fruchter in his review of “The Star and the Scepter” (JPS).
August 19, 2021
Published by Tradition Online at August 19, 2021
Andrew Rosenblatt writes on Max Weber’s “The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” for The BEST: “While the Torah world may have little use for Protestant sects, the idea that religion is a primary driver of culture and that culture is a primary factor in the economy should concern any community leader.”
August 17, 2021
Published by Tradition Online at August 17, 2021
One might claim that a discussion of the issues and controversies related to the heter mekhira, and the manner in which it is conducted, plays a special role in bringing that about. Revisit Daniel Z. Feldman’s survey of these issues as we await the imminent arrival of the Shemitta year 5782.
August 16, 2021
Published by Tradition Online at August 16, 2021
The Rabbi Norman Lamm Memorial Volume -- a special hardcover, book-length issue of TRADITION -- will arrive in a few weeks' time. Pre-order your copy now. The issue, edited by R. Jeffrey Saks, containing over 30 essays by leading figures in the world of Jewish life and ideas, focuses on the wide-ranging areas of Rabbi Lamm’s writing, assessing his lasting contributions to Jewish thought through the prism of his prolific works. View the Table of Contents and introduction.