How do Israelis go from fighting in Gaza to making lunches for their children, knowing that any day now they are likely to be called back into the army? In Ari Kalker’s case, with help from Maimonides.
Isadore Twersky vs. Leo Strauss, Yeshayahu Leibowitz, Moshe Halbertal, and the faculty of Harvard University
How Philadelphia’s local ‘Jewish Exponent’ came to host in 1963 S.D. Goitein’s insightful but overlooked scholarly essay on Maimonides, now reprinted here
In memory of my ‘Tio José,’ a fiercely independent thinker who wrote passionately about Sephardic Judaism, rabbinic semiotics, and Jewish law—who became enmeshed in communal controversy for his ideas
New scholarship captures the fierce but failed attempt to dethrone Judaism’s preeminent biblical commentator
A slew of popularizing science books delve into the basic mismatch between being and human being
How the great kabbalist Isaac Luria changed the perception of the world without changing the world itself
In this week’s ‘Daf Yomi,’ intentionality and human agency remain at the heart of Jewish law. Plus: the difference between a pagan and a heretic.
‘Daf Yomi:’ How modern Jews misinterpret another key philosophical phrase, and why religious fanatics will find no Talmudic argument in support of their dream of building a Third Temple on the mount
In this week’s ‘Daf Yomi,’ Talmudic rabbis determine the finer points of animal sacrifice and follow their logical reasoning to the limits of the absurd
In making animal sacrifices, says this week’s ‘Daf Yomi’ Talmud study, ancient Jews learned the importance of doing religious actions with deliberate purpose
How the modern academic discipline of ‘Jewish Studies’ was invented in Renaissance England by the the greatest Christian Hebraist of the age
The great rabbi and doctor advised laxatives before the meal, exercise after, and no chickpeas
Taken out of context, ancient Rabbinic laws—such as those on capital punishment discussed in this week’s ‘Daf Yomi’ study—can attract the attention of those who hate us
What does Maimonides have to say about the perfect body?
This Yom Kippur, consider the pawsome advice of Maimonides, whose take on saying sorry can be purrfectly applied to your pets
The practice of questionable efficacy has had its adherents from Maimonides to Michael Phelps
After years of suffering, the Cavs—and the city of Cleveland—can celebrate. What did it take to earn their salvation?
