There is now a wide variety of Religious Zionist methodologies of Tanach study—some emphasize medieval commentaries; others focus on Israeli geography or botany; still others address the psychology of the Biblical characters; and much more.
If you were going to check your analytical skills at the door, don’t come into Nechama’s beit midrash.
I found her in the cafeteria, identifying her by her trademark beret. Ever practical, she told me to take a tray and get some lunch. “If you want to study Torah, you have to eat,” she said, inverting the usual conception of Torah as nourishment.
There’s a responsibility for every generation to struggle with the text and learn its truths. And all of the Rishonim understood that.
Academics will ask, “What does this story say?” The religious person will ask, in addition, “What is the story saying to me?”
To us as Torah Jews, the Torah is the way Chazal, the Rishonim and the Acharonim understood it.
If studied in the spirit of the Sages, Tanach can help us answer questions that arise—questions of faith, morality, values, culture and society.
Neglect of Tanach study among the Ashkenazim dates back to the Middle Ages.
Anyone who engages in the valuable pursuit of discovering novel interpretations of Scripture must be wary of going too far.
Where did Yoram get the faith, the strength to be able to say “gam zu l’tovah” after the devastating fire?
I love teaching people before they get into trouble with money. It’s so much easier to help someone when they’re starting out and haven’t made mistakes.
Children need to learn that money is not a goal unto itself, but a valuable tool to help us fulfill our obligations as Jews.
What is perhaps even more remarkable is that a 19-year-old Polish immigrant attained such a high level of fluency in a language which was not his mother tongue, and produced felicitous, articulate, eloquent and sometimes even poetic translations of complex texts.
The food we eat may have a hechsher, but do our habits and behaviors reflect a kosher attitude toward food?
When you have a child with a disability, you subconsciously dread big milestones. Will the bar mitzvah boy fully participate as a typical boy would? Will the guests be sensitive and comment appropriately? Will the participants look past the disability and see a young man striving to be accepted just like every other thirteen-year-old boy?
These easy chocolately sweets are perfect for Chanukah and great for gift-giving. Let’s bake up some mm-good memories!
Scholar, intellectual, ambassador, statesman —Rabbi Herzog was all these, but his unique personality defies simple categorization.
Zornberg highlights the remarkable potential of Tanach to reflect upon, and in turn be illuminated by, many of the deepest questions and concerns raised in continental philosophy, postmodern criticism and the field of psychoanalysis.
Ordinarily, the phrase, “You people…” has been a cringeworthy preface to some insult. “You people think you’re chosen.” “You people are taking over the neighborhood.” But during the many months of my father’s illness, “you people” acquired positive connotations for us.