The Case for Cancelling the Reasonableness Clause
“No person or body stands above the law.”
September 18, 2023
In the 3rd Century, Rabbis Composed the Text That Would Become the Basis of the Talmud. Why?
If the Mishnah isn’t theology, history, or law, what is it?
Around the year 200 CE, Rabbi Judah, the head of the Sanhedrin or rabbinic high court, compiled a vast number of rabbinic teachings into a work known as the Mishnah. The Talmud, composed centuries later, is structured as a commentary on this text. As Shaye Cohen explains in conversation with J.J. Kimche, the Mishnah lacks any sort of introduction, is impenetrable to anyone not already familiar with the rudiments of Jewish law, and cannot be understood as history, theology, or even as a legal code. Cohen discusses what can be known about this work, and why it was without precedent in the history of Judaism. (Audio, 68 minutes.)
September 18, 2023
The Mossad Director’s Threat to Iran Was Meant as a Message to the U.S.
Preventing a nuclear Iran takes precedence over normalization with Saudi Arabia.
A Novelist Reflects on Faith, Literature, and the Yom Kippur War
“God Hidden in Heaven’s Vaults.”
In the 3rd Century, Rabbis Composed the Text That Would Become the Basis of the Talmud. Why?
If the Mishnah isn’t theology, history, or law, what is it?
A Legal Victory for Freedom of Speech, and “Chained Wives”
A recent ruling has important ramifications for Jewish divorce law in the U.S.