Condemning Terrorism in Jerusalem—and Efforts to Stop It
It’s easy to say that murdering Jews is wrong. But why is it hard to say that Jews are allowed to defend themselves?
January 30, 2023
Jewish Prayer as a Virtue
“I love the Lord for He hears my voice.”
Described in the Talmud as “the service that is in the heart,” prayer has a somewhat anomalous status in Jewish law: the medieval rabbis dispute to what extent there is a biblical obligation to pray at all, and the tradition has always struggled to strike a balance between the need for spontaneity and sincerity, on the one hand, and the need for regulation and routine on the other. Natan Oliff suggests trying to understand Jewish prayer not so much as a required activity but as the cultivation of a virtue. He begins by examining a debate among the ancient sages over which verse is the Torah’s most important:
January 30, 2023
Economists’ Concerns about Israeli Judicial Reforms Get the Situation Backward
The rule of law isn’t the same as the rule of lawyers.
Iran’s Jihad on British Soil
A lattice of ostensibly religious and cultural institutions, meant to breed fanaticism.
The Life and Legacy of Max Weinreich, the Architect of Yiddish Scholarship
The dean of Yiddish versus Hitler’s professors.
Jewish Prayer as a Virtue
“I love the Lord for He hears my voice.”