Rabbi Dr. Stuart Halpern is Senior Adviser to the Provost of Yeshiva University and Deputy Director of Y.U.’s Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought. His books include "The Promise of Liberty: A Passover Haggada," which examines the Exodus story’s impact on the United States, "Esther in America," "Gleanings: Reflections on Ruth" and "Proclaim Liberty Throughout the Land: The Hebrew Bible in the United States."
While the role of providence in these politicians’ journeys will no doubt continue to be debated by pundits, it is worth revisiting the model of Moses, whose farewell address in the book of Deuteronomy we’ve been reading in synagogue these past weeks.
Adam Kirsch’s must-read “On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice” seeks to understand, and argue against, a morally dangerous framework that has appeared in contexts ranging from climate change to the Israel-Hamas war.
The recent release of the newest season of Amazon’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” is an occasion to revisit one beloved legendary writer’s defense of the Jews amidst the attacks of those seeking our destruction.
The dynamic of the Diaspora will, undoubtedly, continue to be debated until the Messiah comes.
Isaiah’s iteration of the monarchical meme offers three lessons that today’s political observers would be wise to consider.
It’s Judaism’s most famous verse — yet it’s rarely, if ever, properly understood.
Rereading the Talmud’s description of the Roman destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem this year for Tisha B’Av amidst the still-simmering ashes of Hamas’ October 7th devastation, one is struck by the slaughters’ similarities.
As analyzed by Gila Fine in her recently published “The Madwoman in the Rabbi’s Attic: Rereading the Women of the Talmud,” Marta’s ancient story offers a surprising sliver of hope amidst despair.
The Bible, and especially the Hebrew Bible, was the single most cited book during the Revolutionary era.
Bowing to that bovine is something we’ve never lived down.
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