Tradition Podcast

A Lecture Series by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Lecture 6: Delivered February 5, 1959 Continuing with the idea of Judaism's glorification of the anonymous person, the Talmud says that the participants in the annual “kallah” Torah lectures receive divine reward not according to their intellectual achievements, but according to the amount of discomfort they put themselves through in order to participate. Thus, the diligent ignoramus could receive more reward than the accomplished scholar. Judaism stresses axiological democracy, the equal worth of the great scholar and the little person. Modern Man has yet to live up to this ideal of axiological democracy, and the biggest challenge of today's State of Israel is to live up to this ideal. The Talmud captures this axiological democracy in its dictum, “How do you know that your blood is redder than the blood of your neighbor?” Although Judaism's moral code recognizes the common right to dignity, such that we may not judge or embarrass anyone, it places special emphasis on the dignity on the humble and lowly person, with special injunctions against harming the deaf, blind, orphan, widow, and stranger. Rabban Gamliel the Prince, under the order of execution by the Romans, considered that perhaps he deserved his fate due to once making a widow feel unimportant. This sense of tenderness towards the downtrodden reflects God's own behavior and attitude towards the poor and oppressed, as described in Scripture. Peretz's story “Bontzye Shweig” illustrates this idea as well. This analysis leads to the problem of Jewish loneliness, which requires distinguishing between two different feelings, loneliness and aloneness. Loneliness comes from others inevitably rejecting one's message, one's kerygma. Aloneness comes from the numinous uniqueness inherent in each person. Loneliness brings with it destructive emotions, whereas aloneness is a creative and motivating force. Every person must suffer the loneliness of rejection at some point in life. Next lecture will discuss how Judaism tries to solve the problem of loneliness. Topics triggered by audience questions include the Rosenberg trial, historical controversies among Jews, establishment of a Sanhedrin in Israel, and standardized text for prayer. Jump to: 00:01:15 The Talmudic dictum that reward is granted according to effort 00:08:17 Axiological democracy in Judaism, modern society, and the State of Israel 00:26:24 The human right to dignity and the prohibition to embarrass people 00:44:27 Judaism's concern with the socially anonymous person 00:59:30 Imitatio Dei, imitating God, and the story of the death of “Bontzye Shweig” 01:26:29 Introduction to the problem of Jewish loneliness Access lecture summaries and course materials at www.TraditionOnline.org/JPM  The post A Jewish Philosophy of Man (E6): Judaism's Glorification of the Anonymous Person first appeared on Tradition Online.

A Lecture Series by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Lecture 5: Delivered January 15, 1959 The two Creation accounts reflect not a split in the text but a split in Man. Judaism has a dialectical view of Man, accepting mutually exclusive positions. Man was created alone as a unique and solitary being, but he was also created in a relationship with the Thou, in a communal existence. Man craves both, opposite modes of existence, oscillating like a pendulum between surging towards relationships with others and withdrawing into oneself. Judaism, unlike Catholicism, allows divorce, because only the kerygmatic side of Man can commit to another person, not the numinous side. We are limited in our ability to connect with other personalities due to the numinous aspect of Man. For numinous Man, the question “who am I” is unanswerable, since the I is an eternal mystery beyond rationalization, like a tune I can feel but that cannot be sung. Judaism insists that the worth of the individual is to be judged not by kerygmatic contributions to the community, but by the very fact that the person exists. The dignity of Man comes from the image of God which is found in numinous, not kerygmatic, Man. Judaism revolutionized social philosophy with this idea, upsetting the Classical view of Man. A series of halakhic laws demonstrates Judaism's “doctrine of idealization of anonymity,” meaning, the chosen-ness of the unknown, forlorn individual. One such law states that if a band of heathens demands the surrender of one person, or else the whole city will be destroyed, we do not turn over the one person, even if that person is a criminal. Another example of such a law is the obligation on whomever finds it to bury an anonymous dead body, even if the High Priest would consequently have to cancel the Yom Kipur atonement service. The uniqueness of each person is the foundation of Judaic ethics. However, the dialectical approach says that although we treat others according to their intrinsic, numinous worth, I myself must not rely on my intrinsic worth but am obligated to contribute to the community. Discussions prompted by audience questions include Holocaust decisions to save only a part of the community by handing over another part, Judaism's attitudes towards war, towards parochialism vs. universalism, towards body and soul, and towards religion and ethics. 00:01:15 Dialectical interpretation of the Creation story in Genesis 00:23:25 Inability of institutions like marriage to commit one's numinous side 00:51:16 Judging the worth of the personality not by kerygma but by numinous existence 01:03:44 Halakhah prohibiting the handing over of one person to save the city 01:07:54 Questions from audience and responses about war and Holocaust situations 01:18:55 Halakhah of finding an anonymous corpse 01:29:45 Questions from audience and responses about radical individualism and other topics Access lecture summaries and course materials at www.TraditionOnline.org/JPMThe post A Jewish Philosophy of Man (E5): The Dialectical Approach to the Individual and the Community first appeared on Tradition Online.

This episode of the Tradition Podcast opens with the voice of Rabbi Joseph B. Solovetichik, recorded in 1958, the very year our Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought was founded. The Rav was speaking as part of a series of lectures which TRADITION has recently presented in digitally remastered form as “A Jewish Philosophy of Man.” In this course R. Soloveitchik asks: What is the unique contribution of Judaism towards our understanding of the most enigmatic figure in all of creation, man? How is this understanding reflected in the halakha? What does this unique perspective teach us about the relationship between Jews and the modern world? We are grateful to Rabbi Dr. Mark Smilowitz — who joins us on the podcast to discuss his work in assembling this resource and its enduring importance for Jewish thought and life. At TraditionOnline.org/JPM you too can “enroll” in this course and learn directly, as it were, from the Rav. Our website curates the recordings along with transcripts of the lectures, and summaries which help situate this material within the framework of the Rav's other teachings and writings (very many of which appeared in the pages of TRADITION). A special digital 262-page companion volume containing all that accompanying written material is available for download online or as a print book at Amazon.com. Mark Smilowitz is a veteran educator in the United States and in Israel and earned his doctorate from the Hebrew University for work explaining Rabbi Soloveitchik's approach to the relationship between halakha and philosophy. Read his “The Lonely Man of Faith as Halakhic Philosophy” (TRADITION, Spring 2023).The post Understanding a Jewish Philosophy of Man first appeared on Tradition Online.

A Lecture Series by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Lecture 4: Delivered December 18, 1958 Judaism rejects the Classical view of Man as a universal, as a mere representative of the whole, but it also rejects the modern individualistic view. The Jewish view should be reconstructed from halakhic sources, from rules and laws which are uniquely Jewish, and not from medieval Jewish philosophical sources which too often fell under the influence of Aristotle and do not reflect a genuinely Jewish view. Judaism claims that Man is a lonely, solitary, singular being. This is not the same as the modern individualistic view which, although it prioritizes the individual over the community, sees all individuals as identical, interchangeable, and replaceable. This experience of separateness and estrangement, says the Jewish view, divides Man both from the rest of Creation in general and also from fellow individuals. This loneliness, though it remains a source of distress, is not a destructive emotion but rather an ennobling experience, a source of Man's greatness and dignity. This singularity of Man is the meaning of Man's being created in God's image, for it reflects God's singularity and loneliness. This loneliness is the heart of Jewish prayer, which emphasizes the petition over the hymn, distress over comfort. Judaism opposes the family pew in order to make prayer a solitary experience. Too much emphasis on peace of mind, comfort and success shuts out God. The essence of human loneliness is an inwardness that cannot be observed by the outsider, and cannot be fully communicated in words. Man has a depth existence, not just a surface existence. All other objects in the world have only a surface existence. There is more to Man than his works and his surface accomplishments. But Man also has a surface existence. These two sides of Man are reflected in contradictions between the first two chapters of Genesis regarding the Creation story. The incommunicable side of Man is called numinous Adam, and the relatable side is called kerygmatic Adam. Jump to: 00:01:15 Two modern theories of man's relationship to the community 00:13:38 Reconstructing a genuinely Jewish view from the Halakhah 00:16:46 Man as a lonely being 00:23:23 Man's loneliness and uniqueness reflecting God's loneliness and uniqueness 00:44:48 Loneliness and Jewish prayer 01:10:35 Audience questions and responses 01:17:46 The definition of loneliness as having a depth-existence 01:50:26 Man's dualism derived from the first two chapters of Genesis Access lecture summaries and course materials at www.TraditionOnline.org/JPMThe post A Jewish Philosophy of Man (E4): Judaism's View of Man as a Lonely Being first appeared on Tradition Online.

For much of the modern era, Jewish life rested, quietly but decisively, on an implicit promise. Power would be constrained by law. The State would bind itself to rules not solely invented for its own advantage. The weak would be protected not by benevolence but by structure. Jews, long practiced in the arts of minority survival, understood and benefited from this promise. Chaim Strauchler's recent essay “New/Old American-Jewish Realities” at TraditionOnline.org asks what happens when those norms and rules begin to fray. He suggests that antisemitism is not a bug but a feature of unrestrained power. Reassessing R. Moshe Feinstein's vision of America as a “nation of hesed,” he contends that Judaism has always prepared for moral loneliness—surviving not through kindness of strangers, but through internal discipline, law, and covenantal courage. Chaim Strauchler, an associate editor of TRADITION, is rabbi of Cong. Rinat Yisrael in Teaneck. He joined our journal's editor Jeffrey Saks to discuss the essay and some of the response it's been garnering.The post New/Old American-Jewish Realities first appeared on Tradition Online.

A Lecture Series by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Lecture 3: Delivered December 4, 1958 Modern philosophy knows of three approaches to the question, what is Man: the Biblical, the Classical Greek, and the modern scientific views. The Classical Greek and Biblical anthropologies agree that man is unique and incongruous with the natural order, while the modern scientific view considers man as just a more skilled animal. The Classical and Biblical views also agree that the uniqueness of man is not granted to him as a gift but as a task to be achieved. The two also agree that the intellect is the greatest tool available to man to develop his uniqueness. They disagree, however, as to whether the development of the intellect is the final goal or just a tool to achieve a greater goal. The highest form of human engagement for Judaism is something beyond intellectual achievement, something to be identified and discussed not now but in a future lecture, but for now we can say that Judaism is not logocentric as the Greeks were. Judaism also differed from the Classical Greek view of Man in that the Classical view concerned itself with Man as a universal, anonymous being, with Mankind, with the community, and not with the individual, lonely person. They saw the individual as a meon, which in Greek means a non-existence or semi-existence, while the general species is an ontos on, a true existence. Individual Divine Providence, in this view, depends on the degree to which the single person contributes to society. This Greek “class absolutism” measures the worth and dignity of an individual by his usefulness to society. Greek democracy is based on political equality, not axiological (value) equality. Axiological equality measures the worth of a person based not on his contribution to society but on his intrinsic value. This question of class absolutism vs. axiological democracy has tremendous practical implications on how and why to allocate social services. The Classical view yields a theory of social services based on pragmatic, not moral, concerns that would favor those who have the most to contribute to society. Children would be prioritized over the elderly and gifted children over the mediocre. Education would serve not what is best for the child but what would best serve society. Judaism has a different view, which will be discussed in a future lecture. Jump to: 00:02:46 Three anthropologies regarding the essence of Man 00:06:17 Whether Man is unique or just a more skilled animal 00:14:29 The uniqueness of Man as a task and challenge, not a gift 00:38:49 Human intellect as the final goal, or just a tool to a achieve a greater goal 00:59:40 Classical Greek thought on the priority of society over the individual 01:24:03 Practical implications of Greek “class absolutism” on social services Access lecture summaries and course materials at www.TraditionOnline.org/JPM The post A Jewish Philosophy of Man (E3): Three Approaches to Man first appeared on Tradition Online.

A Lecture Series by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Lecture 2: Delivered November 20, 1958 The unique Jewish viewpoint should be placed in the context of Occidental (Western) thought and religion. However, we must avoid the danger of applying the categories and the question-set of the scientific world view, which is fundamentally pragmatic and utilitarian, to the paradoxical religious experience. We are not interested in a psychology of religion or anthropology of religion, but in a religious psychology and religious anthropology. That is to say, we don't want to know what psychology or anthropology have to say about religion, but what religion has to say about psychology and anthropology. The task of formulating a Jewish anthropology is further hindered by the fact that Judaism, unfortunately, never formulated an original philosophy, but has been mostly apologetic, due to the shyness of our leaders about publicly expressing details about our most intimate relationship with God. Instead, Jews express religiosity through laws that correlate to that inner experience. The Halakhah holds an untold story about the Jewish religious experience that is difficult to unravel, but that is the task of Jewish anthropology. Like science, Jewish anthropology operates with a system of dynamic, a priori postulates, but while scientific postulates are inductive, relying on experimentation and observation, Judaism's postulates are deductive, like mathematics. Judaism therefore provides a metaphysic of man, certain presupposed axioms about the nature of Man, although it remains open to adjusting some of its postulates in the face of newly encountered religious realities. It also allows multiple axioms about Man that contradict one another. On the other hand, Judaism also felt the need to transpose this metaphysic into a practical, functional, living creed through the Halakhah. It translates speculative metaphysics into concrete action by way of man's emotional life. Jump to: 00:01:18 Placing Jewish religious philosophy in the context of Western thought 00:03:15 First problem: error of describing religion in scientific terms 00:29:19 Second problem: Jewish shyness about expressing the private religious experience 00:58:05 Comparing Judaism's a priori postulate system with that of science 01:04:04 Translating the Jewish metaphysic of man into concrete action through Halakhah 01:07:25 The role of creativity and metaphysical postulation in science 01:17:19 Judaism's attention to man's emotional life, and the logic and duties of the heart 01:38:45 Audience questions and responses, and reading assignment for next lecture Access lecture summaries and course materials at www.TraditionOnline.org/JPM The post A Jewish Philosophy of Man (E2): Methodology for a Jewish Religious Anthropology, from Metaphysical to Practical first appeared on Tradition Online.

A Jewish Philosophy of Man: A Lecture Series by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Lecture 1: Delivered November 6, 1958 Judaism, and religion in general, is a cognitive venture, seeking to intellectually grasp the world, and is not merely an emotional or ethical gesture. Unlike the scientist, who, until recently, was mostly interested in knowing the outside world, and unlike other Western religions, which focused their attention on theology, Judaism is concerned mainly with Man. It stresses a religious anthropology, a religious doctrine of Man. Although Judaism is theocentric, it is “anthropo-oriented.” God remains a Deus-absconditus, hidden and unknowable. Our experience of God is antithetical, because we experience Him both as infinitely distant and intimately close. Christianity deals with this dichotomy by dividing between an unapproachable God-father and an accessible God-son. Judaism deals with the same dichotomy by dividing between our intellectual and emotional religious experiences of God. Judaism has no theology because intellectually God is an enigma, and all statements about God are understood not interpretively but normatively, as attributes for us to imitate. Therefore, Judaism's primary question is about Man, not God. Judaism's doctrine of man is guided by a series of questions, including, the problem of Man's dichotomy as being both part of and above the animal world, the question of what trait is Man's unique endowment, and, whether this unique characteristic is inborn or must be earned. Further questions include the relationship between solitary and communal existence, the problem of the dichotomy of mind and soul, and the question if Man is primarily a creature of intellect or of will. The lecture ends with responses to questions from the audience that include critiques of Buber, Kierkegaard, and Mordecai Kaplan's Reconstructionist Judaism. Jump to: 00:02:42 Not presenting a definitive philosophy of Judaism, but a subjective reflection 00:08:07 Religion as a cognitive gesture 00:21:30 Judaism's unique focus on understanding Man 00:33:32 Christian vs. Jewish approaches to the dichotomy of the Man-God experience 00:54:06 A list of the questions about Man that concern Judaism 01:04:56 Questions from the audience and responses Access lecture summaries and course materials at www.TraditionOnline.org/JPM The post JPM Lecture 1: Introduction to the Jewish Philosophy of Man first appeared on Tradition Online.

Eli Rubin's Kabbalah and the Rupture of Modernity (Stanford University Press) presents a groundbreaking study of Chabad Hasidism. Through close readings of primary texts, historical analysis, and engagement with modern philosophy, Rubin, a scholar and Chabad insider, traces the historical evolution of the movement's theology. The result is an indispensable work for anyone wanting to better understand Chabad's intellectual and historical trajectory. Todd Berman, author of a recent TRADITION review of Rubin's book, conducted an in-depth interview with the author at Yeshivat Eretz HaTzvi. The discussion examined Rubin's argument that modernity, viewed through the Kabbalistic lens of tzimtzum and cosmic “rupture,” profoundly reshaped modern thought in addition to the inner intellectual life of Chabad-Lubavitch and its spiritual vision. A key focus of the conversation was how Rubin's ideas speak to the challenges faced by young Modern Orthodox students and how mystical and existential thought can enrich their search for meaning, faith, and identity in the modern world. Rabbi Eli Rubin is a contributing editor at Chabad.org. He received his Ph.D from University College London.  Rabbi Todd Berman is the Director of Institutional Advancement at Yeshivat Eretz HaTzvi where he teaches Jewish Thought and Halakha. The conversation was recorded live at Jerusalem's Yeshivat Eretz HaTzvi on December 4, 2025, and contains questions from students in the audience.The post Kabbalah and the Rupture of Modernity first appeared on Tradition Online.

This week we'll celebrate Shabbat, Rosh Hodesh, Hanukka—and all readers of TRADITION know what that means: Its Mrs. Cooperman's Shabbat and a chance to check in with our distinguished editor emeritus, Rabbi Emanuel Feldman. 30 years ago, R. Feldman published one of our journal's most memorable essays, “God and Mrs. Cooperman” (Winter 1995). Like other memes that have emerged from our pages—Adam I and Adam 2, Majesty and Humility, Rupture and Reconstruction—the concept of a “Mrs. Cooperman Shabbat” is now a handy heuristic to help us organize a way of thinking about contemporary religious life and what's been lost, and what's been gained, as Orthodoxy has flourished since the original Mrs. C sat in the pews of R. Feldman's father's Baltimore shul over 80 years ago. R. Feldman joined our current editor, Jeffrey Saks, to discuss how his perspective on these issues have evolved over his long life.The post Mrs. Cooperman's Shabbat first appeared on Tradition Online.

TRADITION is pleased to share this recording of a talk by Dr. Erica Brown delivered through Yeshiva University's Sacks-Herenstein Center for Values and Leadership, commemorating the recent 5th yahrzeit of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. Brown speaks about her contribution to TRADITION's special issue on the Intellectual Legacy of Rabbi Sacks, titled “Staying Alive: The Dangers of Leadership” (open access at TraditionOnline.org). The essay examines the theme of leadership in a variety of R. Sacks' works, exploring both his methodology and how to situate his thinking within the broader academic discipline of leadership. R. Sacks focused on how to inspire and motivate lay and professional leaders within the Jewish community. To that end, he distilled his wisdom into seven principles of leadership, which reflected the leadership dilemmas and crises he faced and during his own tenure as Chief Rabbi. Dr. Erica Brown, consulting editor at TRADITION, serves as a Vice Provost at Yeshiva University and is the founding director of its Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks-Herenstein Center for Values and Leadership. Watch a video recording of this session. Learn more about the special issue dedicated to Rabbi Sacks' Intellectual Legacy, and order your copy (print or for Kindle).The post Rabbi Sacks on the Joys and Dangers of Leadership first appeared on Tradition Online.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks believed that, out of the science of positive psychology, and in conversation with cognitive behavioral therapy, a new Musar movement could be established. In this episode of the Tradition Podcast, Tamra Wright and Mordechai Schiffman begin to unpack what this might mean in light of their co-authored essay “Radical Resilience: Hope, Agency and Community,” from TRADITION's recent special issue on the intellectual legacy of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. They are joined for the conversation by that volume's co-editor, Samuel Lebens. Together, our three guests explore the relationship between hope, agency, and community; they consider whether Rabbi Sacks was unduly harsh on optimists; and discuss why he placed more faith upon philosophically inspired psychology than upon the main contemporary schools of academic philosophy. What does it mean for Torah to be in conversation with a science like psychology? What does it mean for students of a rabbi to turn their critical gaze towards their late teacher, who now becomes an object of their ongoing research? Watch a video recording of this conversation. See details of the special double-issue of TRADITION and order your copy. Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman is an assistant professor at Yeshiva University's Azrieli Graduate School and the associate rabbi at Kingsway Jewish Center. Dr. Tamra Wright is a Senior Research Fellow at the London School of Jewish Studies. Rabbi Dr. Samuel Lebens is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Haifa. The post Radical Resilience: Hope, Agency and Community first appeared on Tradition Online.

As part of the Tradition Today Summit, held on November 9, 2025, convened by Yeshiva University's Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Studies and TRADITION's publisher the Rabbinical Council of America, we hosted a community wide public Keynote Address by Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter on “Historical Realities and Educational Methodologies: Then and Now.” This was the capstone to a daylong closed conference exploring “Educating Our Children to Be Ovdei Hashem in a Modern World: Challenges and Opportunities.” Evening Keynote Address Program Greetings: R. Jeffrey Saks, Editor, TRADITION R. Chaim Strauchler, Rinat Yisrael & TRADITION R. Menachem Penner, Executive Vice-President, RCA Lecture: R. Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, Yeshiva University Respondents: R. Dr. Michael Berger, Dean, Azrieli Graduate School Ms. Miriam Krupka Berger, Associate Principal, Ramaz Upper School Rabbi Dr. Jeffrey Kobrin, Rosh Yeshiva & Head of School, North Shore Hebrew Academy View the lecture's accompanying source packet. The Tradition Today Summit was hosted at Congregation Rinat Yisrael, in Teaneck, NJ, and supported by Henry and Golda Reena Rothman The post Historical Realities and Educational Methodologies first appeared on Tradition Online.

On Sunday, November 9th, 75 Jewish educators, rabbis, lay-leaders, and thought leaders gathered for the second Tradition Today Summit, convened together with Yeshiva University's Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and TRADITION's publisher, the Rabbinical Council of America, on “Educating Our Children to Be Ovdei Hashem in a Modern World: Challenges and Opportunities.” Together we considered what we can do as a community to educate the next generation of committed Ovdei Hashem? How can students be guided to engage deeply with Jewish life and learning while navigating the challenges of a rapidly changing world? Questions such as these define the landscape of contemporary Jewish education. This second Tradition Today Summit explored how we confront these issues in different contexts: from the New York area to so-called “out-of-town” communities; from American gap-year programs in Israel to local schools and synagogues. Classical Jewish sources, Hasidic thought, and ideas from general educational teachings provide valuable perspectives for addressing these concerns. Central issues to be considered include the role of technology in the classroom and students' lives more broadly, strategies for supporting different types of students, and models for fostering genuine spirituality. The discussion will highlight the range of approaches within Modern Orthodoxy and the broader challenges facing Jewish education today. View the program schedule. The conference proceedings will appear in an upcoming special issue of TRADITION. Listen to the opening remarks of the assembly with Rabbi Jeffrey Saks (Editor of TRADITION), Rabbi Etan Tokayer (President, RCA), and Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman (President, Yeshiva University).The post Tradition Today Summit first appeared on Tradition Online.

In this episode of our podcast, Tzvi Sinensky,  co-editor of TRADITION's special issue on the intellectual legacy of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, speaks with author Alex Israel about his essay in the volume, “Not by Might: Aversion to Power in Rabbi Sacks' Writings.” They begin with Rabbi Sacks' 2016 debate with Rabbi Shlomo Riskin on the pages of The Jewish Review of Books about Judaism's complicated relationship with power. From there, the conversation turns to Rabbi Sacks' reading of Genesis as a rejection of myth and his vision of “Divine Image” as a moral counterweight to power. They discuss how Rabbi Sacks imagined a covenantal society bound by a shared narrative, and how he might have responded in the wake of October 7th. Watch a video recording of this conversation. See details of the special double-issue of TRADITION and order your copy. Rabbi Alex Israel, author, podcaster and international lecturer, teaches at Midreshet Lindenbaum, Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi, and the Rabbi Sacks Legacy. Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Sinensky is Director of the Lamm Legacy Project, and Director of Judaic Studies at Main Line Classical Academy.The post Not By Might first appeared on Tradition Online.

Listen to the recording of our online event marking the publication of TRADITION‘s special volume, published in partnership with the Rabbi Sacks Legacy, exploring the intellectual legacy of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z”l (November 2, 2025). Host: Jeffrey Saks, with greetings from Menachem Penner and Gila Sacks. Editors Samuel Lebens and Tzvi Sinensky in conversation with authors Dov Lerner, Raphael Zarum, and Malka Z. Simkovich. Learn more about this volume or order a copy. Watch the video recording of the event.The post The Intellectual Legacy of Rabbi Sacks first appeared on Tradition Online.

December 16th will mark the 250th birthday of the renowned English novelist Jane Austen, and “Janeites” (as her fans call themselves) are aflutter worldwide. In this episode of the TRADITION Podcast Mali Brofsky chats with Yaffa Aranoff about her recent essay “The Perils of Gentle Selfishness: Jane Austen's Emma and Halakhic Morality,” TRADITION 57:1 (Winter 2025). Brofsky and Aranoff are both avid lovers of Austen's writing, and in this conversation they discuss  how her novel Emma interacts with Aranoff's reading of Hazal's understanding of the principle to not “put a stumbling block before the blind,” revealing the depths of Austen's wisdom and Hazal's ethical sensitivity. The conversation concludes with a few words about Austen's literary skill as it is conveyed through Mansfield Park, which was Brofsky's pick for our 2025 Summer Book Endorsements.  They also consider Austen's philosophy of virtue and the ways it is conveyed in her writing. Altogether, this episode serves as a demonstration of engagement with “the best” in literature, showing how it can redound to our growth as thinking religious beings. Yaffa Aranoff teaches at Midreshet Lindenbaum's Darcheynu program and at other institutions in Jerusalem. Mali Brofsky, a member of TRADITION's editorial board, is a senior faculty member at MMY and a social worker in private practice. Watch a video recording of this conversation.The post Jane Austen and Halakhic Morality first appeared on Tradition Online.

For many mothers, especially literary-minded ones, raising young children may feel like an intellectual regression. In this episode of the TRADITION Podcast, Ilana Kurshan and Sarah Rindner Blum discuss how the time spent reading books with our children can also yield profound intellectual and spiritual insights, not to mention deeper and more enjoyable relationships. Kurshan's new book, Children of the Book: A Memoir of Reading Together (St. Martin's Press), explores the ways in which reading books and learning Torah in the context of family life can be uplifting and transformative. In their conversation, Ilana and Sarah compare repeatedly reading the same children’s books to prayer, and the rejection of screens in favor of books to the Biblical transition from idolatry to monotheism. They also delve into the unique challenges of raising enthusiastic English language readers in Israel. Sarah Rindner Blum, a teacher and writer living in Israel, reviewed Children of the Book in TRADITION's recent Summer 2025 issue. Ilana Kurshan's first memoir, If All the Seas Were Ink, won the Sami Rohr Prize in Jewish Literature. Watch a video recording of this conversation. The post PODCAST: Children of the Book first appeared on Tradition Online.

In this episode of the Tradition Podcast we update our listeners on some happenings over on our website, TraditionOnline.org. Check out the Tradition Summer Book Endorsements: Our yearly tradition of turning to our esteemed editorial board for endorsements for summer reading. Some may be amused to think of a seaside read with the 29 tomes our team chose, but that's what you get from TRADITION's thought leaders: sometimes surprising suggestions, but always reading worthy of your attention. Readers of TraditionOnline have been following our pair of biweekly columns which appear on Thursdays. We catch up with those authors to summarize what's been accomplished online and to look ahead. TRADITION's associate editor, Chaim Strauchler, the Rabbi of Rinat in Teaneck, has been offering us “Tradition Questions” prodding us to think about an array of issues facing religious life. That column is now going off on hiatus and will be replaced in the Fall with the return of his very popular “The Best” series – we spoke with Chaim about the answers and insights he found in the course of “Tradition Questions.” Moshe Kurtz, has presented 30 installments in his “Unpacking the Iggerot” series, exploring the background and reception history of R. Moshe Feinstein's most consequential response in the Iggerot Moshe. It's a fascinating guided reading of those teshuvot. We catch up with Moshe to survey what's been accomplished in that series as it goes off on summer break while he settles into his new position as the rabbi of Cong. Sons of Israel in Allentown, PA. Fear not – he'll return to TraditionOnline with new essays in the Fall. We're also glad to let you know that Yitzchak Blau, no stranger to our readers, will be filling in over the Summer with an encore series of his “Alt+Shift” column—that's the keyboard shortcut allowing us quick transition between input languages on our keyboards. For many readers of TRADITION that's the move from Hebrew to English (and back again). The series will appear every Thursday until September, offering an insider's look into trends, ideas, and writings in the Israeli Religious Zionist world and helping readers from the Anglo-sphere gain insight into worthwhile material available only in Hebrew.The post Catching Up with TraditionOnline first appeared on Tradition Online.

This episode of the Tradition Podcast features an engaging conversation about current scholarship on Maimonides—the “Great Eagle.” TRADITION's Winter 2025 issue presented a review essay by Marc Herman on Prof. Mordechai Akiva Friedman's Ha-Rambam u-Genizat Kahir [Maimonides and the Cairo Geniza] (Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities), and Rabbi Dr. Aaron Adler's Al Kanfei Nesharim: Mehkarim be-Sifrut ha-Hilkhatit shel ha-Rambam (Tevunot Press at Herzog College). In this podcast, reviewer meets his subject as Herman and Ahron Adler discuss aspects of their common work on Maimonides. Among other topics, they consider differences in approach to Maimonidean research carried out by pure academicians as opposed to a rabbinic educator who dabbles in academia and benefits from its methods, and how R. Adler synthesized traditional “yeshiva style” learning with academic tools in his book.  They also speculate about whether or not and how the academic approach, utilizing the vast manuscript material available today, could or should make its way into traditional study in batei midrash. Read Marc Herman, “Maimonides in Panoramic View: New Studies of the Great Eagle,” TRADITION (Winter 2025). R. Dr. Aaron Adler is a veteran communal leader, educator, and scholar. He is rabbi emeritus of Ohel Nechama in Jerusalem, and founding Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshivat Bnei Akiva Ner Tamid in Hashmona'im. Dr. Marc Herman is an assistant professor at York University in Toronto. His first book, After Revelation: The Rabbinic Past in the Medieval Islamic World (University of Pennsylvania Press), will be published in the coming weeks.The post Rambam in the Yeshiva and the University first appeared on Tradition Online.

TRADITION's subscribers have already received our special Spring 2025 issue, containing content commemorating R. Aharon Lichtenstein zt”l, timed with his 10th yahrzeit marked this month. Five years ago we were pleased to publish Rabbanit Tonya Mittelman's essay, “Women in the Torah World in the Thought of Rabbi Lichtenstein” (Summer 2020). Toni, a distinguished educator, is a daughter of R. Lichtenstein. In this episode of our podcast, Mali Brofsky talks with Mittelman, who shares insights from her father’s career, as well as her own experiences as an educator, regarding women’s participation in high-level Jewish learning and religious practice. She emphasizes that her father's endorsement of women's learning was rooted in his deep trust in both Torah and in women, explaining that he believed women and men have similar spiritual needs in this regard. The conversation explores the challenges and opportunities in providing comprehensive Jewish education for women, as well as their practice of mitzvot, with Toni emphasizing that her biggest challenge as an educator is transforming her students from passive to active participants in halakhic education and practice. Regarding religious practice, Mittelman notes that women should maximize participation wherever possible. On the question of the frustration often experienced by women in these areas, she asserts that there remains a difference between men and women in some religious contexts, that this reality should be openly discussed, and that women should trust the system, pointing out that these challenges are part of a broader set of life demands experienced by men and women alike. The discussion concludes by encouraging further progress in women’s religious participation while acknowledging the ongoing tensions within the traditional religious framework. Watch a video recording of the conversation. Tonya Mittelman is the Principal of Ulpanat Tzvia Sdot Negev. Mali Brofsky, a member of TRADITION's editorial board, is a senior faculty member at MMY and a social worker in private practice.The post R. Lichtenstein on Women's Torah Study first appeared on Tradition Online.

This episode of the Tradition Podcast is being released on Rosh Hodesh Iyar, the tenth yahrzeit of Rav Aharon Lichtenstein zt”l. In eulogizing his father-in-law, Rabbi Soloveitchik, R. Lichtenstein observed that the Rav was a “sui generis sage—he bestrode American Orthodoxy like a colossus, transcending many of its internal fissures.” Such could be said about R. Lichtenstein himself, expanding the width of the colossus' stance to include religious life in Israel as well, where he made his home as Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion for over 40 years. TRADITION's recently released Spring 2025 contains a section of essays exploring R. Lichtenstein's teachings and thought – and is a complement to our special enlarged winter 2014 issue dedicated to R. Lichtenstein as well (a volume planned as a tribute but whose timing very shortly before his passing meant it was received by our readers as a memorial volume). That issue, guest edited by Yitzchak Blau, Alan Jotkowitz, and Reuven Ziegler, is available in our open-access archives. Now, a decade later, we bring you a never-before published essay by R. Lichtenstein, “Relevance and Reverence” (open access), exploring some of the challenges in Jewish education at the time he first delivered the ideas as a talk in 1984 – and analyzed by Michael S. Berger, Dean of Yeshiva University's Azrieli Graduate School of Education, who writes on the ongoing relevance of “Relevance and Reverence.” In this episode, we talk with Berger about the topics raised in the two essays. Later in the episode we hear from Shlomo Zuckier about his contribution to the volume, revisiting R. Lichtenstein's classic essay, “Does Jewish Tradition Recognize an Ethic Independent of Halakha?” Zuckier, a research associate at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and consulting editor at TRADITION, penned an impressive and sweeping survey of the impact and reception of “Ethic Independent,” which originally appeared 50 years ago. Watch a video version of the recording. Subscribers can access all the content in this new issue at TraditionOnline.org or enjoy the print copy which should be arriving in post boxes in the coming days. In our open-access archives you can find all of R. Lichtenstein's many contributions to TRADITION over the years.The post Rav Lichtenstein's Legacy first appeared on Tradition Online.

Readers of TraditionOnline.org have been following our week-long series COVID+5,where we've been exploring the lasting impact of the pandemic on Jewish education, communal life, and spirituality. Through the insights and reflections of a diverse group of authors we've considered how COVID reshaped our synagogues, our communal celebrations, our Yeshiva high school and elementary schools, and our relationship with God and each other. In this episode of our podcast, the guest editor of that series, R. Yehuda Halpert, conducts a reflective conversation on the changes that have occurred in this past half-decade in our religious and educational institutions, communal trust, as well as the emotional and spiritual struggles experienced by individuals during the pandemic. He talks with the six authors in the series, all of whom draw on their experiences as mental health professionals, educators, administrators, and spiritual leaders to look back on the Spring of 2020, and to consider where we're holding now. Read the series introduction and all the columns here. In the first segment of this episode we hear from Gila Muskin Block, executive director and co-founder Yesh Tikva, an organization dedicated to working with couples navigating the challenges of infertility, and Dr. Carl Hochhauser a pediatric psychologist who is also on the counselling and teaching staff at Yeshivat HaKotel. Together they focus on the emotional and spiritual struggles experienced by individuals during the pandemic. The episode then transitions from the individual to the communal, focusing on our schools, synagogues, and the broader Jewish community, as we're joined by Rabbis Josh Kahn (Torah Academy of Bergen County), Daniel Korobkin (BAYT, Toronto), Leonard Matanky (Congregation K.I.N.S. of West Rogers Park, and Dean of Ida Crown Jewish Academy) and Larry Rothwachs (Beth Aaron, Teaneck). The participants revisit aspects of the COVID pandemic and its post-pandemic consequences all the while challenging and sharpening each other's formulations and conclusions. Watch a video recording of the conversations. TRADITION thanks Yehuda Halpert for initiating this project. Explore more on these themes in his recent book, Speaking to an Empty Shul: Timeless Lessons from Unprecedented Times, a rabbinic diary describing his time leading Cong. Ahavat Shalom in Teaneck throughout the pandemic years.

With Passover around the corner our minds are on the many preparations required to join our families around the Seder Table—and yet, who can forget the events of five years ago, when so many of us were isolated, locked-down, sheltering in place during that COVID Pesach of 2020. We're pleased to share this episode of R. Moshe Kurtz's “Shu”t First, Ask Questions Later” podcast, examining the COVID Zoom Seder controversy. Kurtz is joined by R. Yehuda Halpert, who takes us back to the pandemic halakhic literature, identifies important topics that the Jewish world wrestled with during those unprecedented days, and shows how those questions are still resonant for Jewish practice in 2025. Readers of TraditionOnline.org know Moshe Kurtz as the author of our “Unpacking the Iggerot” series, exploring the responsa of R. Moshe Feinstein zt”l. His “Shu”t First, Ask Questions Later” podcast can be found at Spotify and all other platforms—search it out and subscribe now. It's an engaging weekly discussion about response literature and fascinating halakhic curiosities; it has also hosted many of TRADITION's regular authors. Stay tuned! Yehuda Halpert will be returning to TraditionOnline right after Pesach as the guest editor of a series on COVID+5, in which rabbis, educators, mental health professionals, and communal leaders will be sharing with us their takes on how the landscape has changed in the half-decade since the pandemic, what we got right and what we got wrong, and some of the enduring lessons and challenges of that time on the Jewish world. Yehuda Halpert is Rabbi of Congregation Ahavat Shalom in Teaneck, NJ, and is an attorney and tax counsel at Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP. Moshe Kurtz serves as the Assistant Rabbi of Agudath Sholom in Stamford, CT, and is the author of Challenging Assumptions.

In this episode of the Tradition Podcast, our associate editor Yitzchak Blau interviews author, researcher, and Makor Rishon columnist Yair Sheleg about his recent Hebrew book HaHut HaMeshulash, whose English title might be offered as The Triple Chord: A Short History of Religious Zionism (Kinneret-Zmora, 2024). Rav Kook believed that Religious Zionism combines elements of religion, nationalism, and liberalism. In HaHut HaMeshulash Sheleg asks if contemporary Religious Zionism has remained loyal to this triple mission. If not, why not—and where has it fallen short? Blau and Sheleg also discuss the relationship between American Modern Orthodoxy and Israeli Religious Zionism—how do they overlap and how do they differ? Sheleg's had published an essay at TraditionOnline before the book appeared that outlined his basic thesis; Blau had reviewed Sheleg's book when it was published a few months ago as part of his fascinating Alt+Shift series (he also reviewed Sheleg's earlier work on Hardalim, or Ultra-Orthodox Zionism).

In this episode of the TRADITION Podcast, Mali Brofsky and Mark Smilowitz discuss the central thesis of his recent essay, “Esther and the Spies: A Bible-Based Symbolic Meaning of Walled Cities from the Time of Joshua” which appeared in our Fall 2024 issue and is now open access at TraditonOnline.org. Smilowitz explains how, through an analysis of the textual connection between the walled cities in the time of Joshua and those in the Purim story, he has uncovered a message about how the Jewish nation is enjoined to move from fear to courage through our connection to faith during times of crisis. The two discuss the importance of reading halakhic and traditional texts with an eye toward understanding their deeper philosophical, theological, and ethical messages, and also consider the significance of Smilowitz's message regarding faith and meaning, how we see this experience reflected in our own time, and how it can serve as a source of support during the great challenges facing us today. Mali Brofsky, MSW, a member of TRADITION's editorial board, is a senior faculty member at MMY and a social worker in private practice; Rabbi Mark Smilowitz, a veteran educator in Israel and the United States, recently completed a doctorate on the thought of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik at Hebrew University. Read “Esther and the Spies” at TraditionOnline.org. Halakha mandates a separate date for Purim for cities that had walls during the era of Joshua. Commentators have been puzzled by the selection of the era of Joshua in particular, as opposed to other, more obvious choices (such as the period of the Purim story itself). The Talmud points to a source which seems to rely on a mere technicality without providing a satisfying thematic connection between Joshua and Esther. Smilowitz's essay probes the broader context of source through an exploration of the early chapters of Deuteronomy alongside the story of the sin of the spies in order to demonstrate a thematic parallel between the development of the faith of Esther and the development of the faith of the Jewish people over time, from the sin of the spies through the conquering of walled cities in Canaan under Joshua's leadership. The article argues that the halakha about walled cities in the time of Joshua is meant to point to this particular message about the dynamism of faith as illustrated by those two stories. Watch a video recording of the conversation.

What is the purpose of forgiveness? How necessary is it to maintain working social order – within the body politic or within the smaller circles of religious community or family? Is forgiveness the work and responsibility of the offender (to seek it) or the offended party (to willfully grant it)? We live with these issues daily, often struggling with them in the messiness and complexity of human relationships, and while we're aware of the halakhic and philosophical writings that circle the topic, how often do we let them penetrate our actual behavior? In a remarkable new essay appearing in TRADITION (Fall 2024), Neti Penstein explores the interplay of halakhic sources in the writings of Maimonides, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and others, and brings her analysis of that wisdom to bear in puzzling out and offering a solution to a particular 50-year-old paradox first presented by the philosopher Aurel Kolnai (1900-1973). Penstein's work reminds us of the Rav's closing remark in “The Halakhic Mind”: “Out of the sources of Halakhah, a new worldview awaits formulation,” and her essay collapses the barrier between halakhic sources and philosophical insights. Read “Forgiveness: A Philosophical Analysis of the Halakhic Sources” TRADITION (Fall 2024). Neti Penstein is a graduate of Princeton University, where she studied philosophy. She is currently completing an MA in Jewish Philosophy at Yeshiva University's Bernard Revel Graduate School and is studying in its Graduate Program in Advanced Talmud Studies. In this episode of the Tradition Podcast she joins TRADITION's editor, Jeffrey Saks, to discuss her work, her assessment of philosophical thinking in today's Modern Orthodox community, and why, if done correctly, there's nothing more practical than philosophical thinking for our actual lived experience.

R. Jonathan Sacks observed that “Jews have survived catastrophe after catastrophe, in a way unparalleled by any other culture. In each case, they did more than survive. Every tragedy in Jewish history was followed by a new wave of creativity.” Even at this early date, we have begun to witness the emergence of creative responses to the events of Simchat Torah 2023 and its long aftermath. That some of the more significant products have been delivered from within our own Orthodox community, both in Israel and abroad, makes these works especially worthy of our attention, and this week TraditionOnline ran a series of excerpts from three new books that have been written and published from within the fog of war; each aiming to offer religious insight and respond to the traumas of our collective Jewish experiences since Simchat Torah 2023. In this podcast we chat with those three authors about their writing, the challenge of responding “from the gut” in real time, and how powerful and responsive works of this nature impact in their moment and resonate across the years. Our guests are: Erica Brown, “Morning Has Broken: Faith After October 7th” (Toby Press). Rachel Sharansky Danziger discussing the tefillot she contributed to “Az Nashir—We Will Sing Again: Women's Prayers for Our Time of Need,” compiled and edited by Shira Lankin Sheps, Rachel Sharansky Danziger, and Anne Gordon (Shvilli Center). Moshe Taragin, “Dark Clouds Above, Faith Below” (Yeshivat Har Etzion & Kodesh Press). As many readers and listeners know, the son of R. Moshe and Atara Taragin was badly wounded in Lebanon. Please pray for Noam Avraham ben Atara Shlomit along with all of Israel's soldiers, citizens, and the entirety of the Jewish people.

TRADITION's Summer 2024 issue contained expanded book review coverage including a review by Menachem Kellner of ArtScroll's new anthology of Maimonidean philosophy, Kisvei HaRambam: Writings of Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon – The Rambam, translated, annotated, and elucidated by R. Yehuda Meir Keilson. For TraditionOnline Kellner profiled The Guide to the Perplexed: A New Translation, translated and with a commentary by Lenn E. Goodman and Philip I. Lieberman (Stanford University Press), claiming it is destined to become the new standard for all engagement with the Guide in English. Throughout much of his academic career Kellner has been reminding the academic community that Rambam was also a rabbi, drawing profoundly on the rabbinic literature and embodying and promoting halakhic commitment. In the opposite direction, he hopes that more traditional audiences will increase their awareness of Maimonides as a thinker deeply rooted in the Arabic philosophical language and tradition of his day. With critical reservations in place, he draws our attention to these works under review as exemplars of positive movement on these fronts. In this podcast conversation Kellner joins our editor Jeffrey Saks to discuss these books and his reviews, and the two go off on a tangent about how he got into this business in the first place (and the impact of his move to Israel in 1980 had on the shape of his academic interests and desire to communicate his positions to a larger Jewish and general audience outside of the ivory tower). Menachem Kellner is Wolfson Professor Emeritus of Jewish Thought at the University of Haifa and founding chair of Shalem College's Department of Philosophy and Jewish Thought.

TRADITION and the Rabbinical Council of America recently hosted R. Mosheh Lichtenstein, Rosh Yeshivat Har Etzion, for a conversation revisiting a classic essay from our archives: R. Aharon Lichtenstein zt”l, “The Ideology of Hesder” (TRADITION, Fall 1981), using it as a lens to explore contemporary issues in Israeli religious and civilian life and society and the particular challenges of the current war. Introduction: R. Menachem Penner, Executive Vice-President, RCA Moderator: R. Jeffrey Saks, Editor, TRADITION Together we considered the complex relationship between yeshiva study and army service embodied by the Hesder movement; how the 40 years since the original essay's publication may have strengthened or weakened its message; what is the ideal role for Religious Zionism to play in Israel's contentious present moment and how we have grown simultaneously closer and further from those on our left and it right; how do we assess trends on the scene such as the rise of the Mekhinot, and the ongoing and current strife surrounding the Haredi military exemption and draft. R. Lichtenstein spoke candidly and personally about the traumas of this year, and the sacrifice of the lives of numerous precious students. Watch a video recording of the event.

TRADITION's recent Summer 2024 issue contained expanded book review coverage including a review by Yitzhak Blau on Gila Fine's new “The Madwoman in the Rabbi's Attic: Rereading the Women of the Talmud” (Maggid Books & Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies). Blau says this book carries the rare distinction of breaking new ground in two very different fields: the rabbinic view of women and the tools of aggadic interpretation. While some scholars see Hazal as holding an almost uniformly negative attitude toward women, and others fail to acknowledge any conflicts between the rabbinic tradition and contemporary sensibilities, Blau suggests Fine presents a more balanced outlook. We thought it would be instructive to bring the author and the reviewer (himself an accomplished interpreter of rabbinic aggada) together for a conversation. They discuss the book and touch on the relationship between Biblical and Talmudic narrative and teaching values through aggada. Read Yitzchak Blau's review of “The Madwoman in the Rabbi's Attic“. Gila Fine lectures in a variety of settings including Pardes Institute and Midreshet Amudim, exploring the tales of the Talmud through philosophy, literary criticism, psychoanalysis, and culture (both high and pop). Her published work has been featured in many platforms including our own pages of TRADITION. Yitzchak Blau, associate editor of TRADITION, is Rosh Yeshivat Orayta in Jerusalem. Watch a video recording of this conversation.

It's become a tradition at TRADITION that each year we turn to our esteemed editorial board for endorsements for summer reading (read this year's picks here). This summer our friend and colleague Mali Brofsky highlighted the work of author Susan Cain, specifically in her recent #1 NY Times Bestseller (and Oprah Book Club selection) “Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole” (Crown). Mali wrote that Cain's book “examines the experience of melancholy or poignancy that she calls Bittersweet. She wonders about the emotions of loss and longing that seem so unavoidable in this world, and that often accompany not only experiences of suffering, but also moments of transcendent beauty. Cain observes that this experience of longing is ultimately a marker for the universal experience of yearning for the transcendent and the Divine. She explores how suffering can be transformed into meaning, purpose, and creativity, arguing that this pain is unavoidable and should not be ignored or explained away. Cain ultimately concludes that when loss is accepted, it can lead us to greater empathy for each other as we connect to our common experience of pain.” In reviewing Bittersweet Mali drew lessons, strength, and encouragement following the events of Simchat Torah and throughout this year's long war. After publishing this summer's endorsement we were delighted that Susan Cain reached out to us, thanking TRADITION for the review. She wrote: “It truly meant the world to me. I so appreciate the linking of the book to the post-October 7 experience. That is how I think of it too, even though of course I had no idea what would happen when I wrote it. I also wanted to especially thank Mali Brofsky for so perfectly capturing what I tried to convey in ‘Bittersweet’—it's an inherently ineffable topic, and Mali's is the best description I've yet read.” We thought it would be interesting to record a conversation between Mali and Susan and to explore how Bittersweet has special meaning for our religious community. Named one of the top ten influencers in the world by LinkedIn, Susan Cain is a renowned speaker and author of the award-winning books “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking” and “Bittersweet.” Her TED Talk on the power of introverts has been viewed over forty million times. Follow her work at SusanCain.net and join her “Quite Life Community” (housed at SubStack). Mali Brofsky, an editorial board member at TRADITION, is a senior faculty member at Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim, teaches at Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Hebrew University, and runs a clinical social work practice.

In the area of Jewish medical ethics brain death is the topic which just will not die. With the advent of technologies and medical developments since the mid-twentieth century, questions about the halakhic definition of death have gone from the largely theoretical (and philosophical) to painfully practical for physicians, patients, and their families. Perhaps no other rabbinic figure's opinion has factored in quite so significantly on the subject as R. Moshe Feinstein zt”l, the preeminent posek of the last century. However, the contours and applications of R. Feinstein's position have been intensely debated. In a recent piece of research that surfaces some relevant new points of evidence, Dr. Noam Stadlan offers a re-understanding of R. Feinstein's ruling, arguing that he defined death as irreversible apneic coma, without regard for the continued presence of heart function. This has various significant implications for end-of-life care and organ donation. In this episode of the Tradition Podcast, Stadlan joins our editor, Jeffrey Saks, to discuss the article, as well as larger trends in the field of Jewish medical ethics, the partnership that should exist between physicians and medical research on one hand with poskim on the other, and why our readers are perennially interested in the field of medical halakha. Read Noam Stadlan, “Revisiting R. Moshe Feinstein's Definition of Death” (TRADITION, Winter 2024): https://traditiononline.org/revisiting-r-moshe-feinsteins-definition-of-death Noam Stadlan, M.D., is Vice-Chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, IL.

TRADITION's Winter 2024 issue (now fully open access) featured a review by R. Gidon Rothstein of R.  Elisha Aviner's Hebrew volume, Dor Tahpukhot, whose English title might read A Guide for Parents Whose Children Have Distanced Themselves from Observance (Sifiyat Hava). The book is a practical, philosophical, and halakhic compendium of advice to parents who have struggled to educated their children to a life of religious commitment, and the often painful and complicated realities of what happens when some children choose their own path “off the derech” (as the saying goes). Elisha Aviner is Rosh Kollel at the Birkat Moshe Hesder Yeshiva in Maale Adumim, and rabbi of that local community. He is also well known in Israel as a speaker and writer on the array of issues involved in educating adolescents. In his review, Gidon Rothstein, an author and educator, unpacks some of the complexities of this new book, and gets to the heart of some of the issues, especially how the book presents divergent approaches when offering general advice, encouragement, and support versus when speaking in a more formal halakhic context. Read Gidon Rothstein's review of Elisha Aviner, Dor Tahpukhot. In this podcast we discuss Rothstein's thoughtful and sensitive review; consider the book's very specific Israeli focus; and consider how its lessons might be adapted – or not – for an American audience.

Subscribers have no doubt begun to dig into TRADITION's recent symposium issue on “The Challenge of Material Success,” which contains the proceedings of our Tradition Today Summit. We were delighted that one of our contributors, Michael Eisenberg, recently discussed his paper with Yaakov Wolff at the Shtark Tank podcast. The essay and conversation center on Eisenberg's concept of “Covenantal Capitalism” and how Jewish values have shaped his career and investing. They also discuss ways in which Torah concepts concerning economic values are best, perhaps only, able to be implemented in modern Israel. Michael Eisenberg is the co-founder and general partner of Aleph, a Tel Aviv-based venture capital firm, and the author of, most recently, The Tree of Life and Prosperity. The Shtark Tank podcast, hosted by Yaakov Wolff, explores a variety of relevant topics, including the challenges and possibilities at the intersection of careers and religious life for those who strive to find balance and to succeed at each in fulfilling ways. Subscribe to Shtark Tank on Spotify or all podcasting platforms. Our thanks to them for their partnership in allowing us to share this episode with listeners of the Tradition Podcast.

TRADITION's most recent issue features a special section with short reflective essays on the events of October 7th and the ongoing war in Israel. In this episode, two of those authors meet to discuss the topics touched on in those very personal pieces of writing. Chaim Strauchler engages with Alex S. Ozar, who serves as a rabbi with the Orthodox Union's JLIC and the Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale University. Alex's essay, “War in Israel, in New Haven” captures the raw emotions, trauma, and fear of last Simhat Torah. He wonders: Is the Golden Age of American Jewry, in fact, over? He shares reflections on the Jewish experience on the Yale campus over the past number of months and what that experience says about the future of American Jewry. Amidst many frightening anecdotes, he communicates optimism about his students and the prospects for future Jewish success. Chaim Strauchler, associate editor at TRADITION, in his essay, considers how we might make the best opportunities of the current crisis, to grow and improve from amidst its ashes. Locating in Maimonides' teachings a call to accountability he suggests three arenas for discussion: a counter-narrative to the oppressor/oppressed duality; a renewal of Zionism; and ways to heal as a nation and a people. You can read both of these essays open-access in our newest issue.

Because TRADITION has always aspired to be more than a quarterly print journal and aims to help shape the conversation and have an impact in our religious community, about five years ago we broadened our reach by expanding our digital-direct offerings, producing shorter-form original content distributed on TraditonOnline.org and over social media—this includes the podcast, expanded coverage of books and cultural criticism, and a platform to feature new authors. Since December 2022 Yitzchak Blau has been producing “Alt+SHIFT”—that's the keyboard shortcut allowing us quick transition between input languages on our keyboards. For many readers of TRADITION this is the move from English to Hebrew (and back again). Blau has shared his insider's look into trends, ideas, and writings in the Israeli Religious Zionist world to help readers from the Anglo sphere gain insight into worthwhile material available only in Hebrew. This series is now heading off on hiatus and we thought it would be a good idea to talk with its author about what he's accomplished in the 30 installments of the column. Yitzchak Blau, Rosh Yeshivat Orayta in Jerusalem's Old City, is an Associate Editor of TRADITION. Later in the episode, we meet Moshe Kurtz, who will be stepping in with a new series, “Unpacking the Iggerot,” exploring themes and topics at the intersection of halakha and hashkafa as they arise from the Iggerot Moshe of R. Moshe Feinstein zt”l. He joins us now for a quick preview of what we can expect from that upcoming series. Kurtz is the Assistant Rabbi at Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford, CT, author of Challenging Assumptions, and host of the podcast Shu”T First, Ask Questions Later.

Yisroel Ben-Porat, a doctoral candidate in early American history at CUNY Graduate Center, is writing a doctorate on the Puritans' use of the Hebrew Bible as a political text. In TRADITION's recent Fall 2023 issue he offered a historical investigation of an enigmatic early eighteenth-century figure, “Rabbi” Judah Monis—the first known Jewish-born degree recipient and faculty member at Harvard, where he taught Hebrew for almost four decades. Monis converted in advance of his appointment, but seems to have maintained a complicated relationship with the Judaism he left (or tried to leave) behind. The Tradition Podcast spoke with Ben-Porat about this little-known chapter which opens very many questions about American Jewish identity and politics, Antisemitism, and even current events and conflict on the Harvard campus and the halls of Congress (in ways Ben-Porat could not have anticipated when he authored the essay months ago). Read Yisroel Ben-Porat, “Protestant Rabbi: The Conversion of Judah Monis in Colonial Massachusetts,” TRADITION (Fall 2023). Watch a video recording of this discussion.

Listen to an introduction to TRADITION's upcoming Winter 2024 issue, with special content related to the ongoing war in Gaza. Jeffrey Saks observes: The initial shock, horror, and trauma of October 7th have in no way abated and all thoughts remain fixed on the “matzav”—our most abnormal situation. Writing from Israel, our editor considers the challenges for our religious community, the heartening reality of Jewish unity, and some sharp questions it poses for our way forward. Listen to this Audio Editor's Note accompanying the new issue, due to arrive in subscribers' hands and online next week.

TRADITION's Summer 2023 issue, recently made fully open access, contained a fascinating offering penned by Michael A. Shmidman, our distinguished editor emeritus, titled “Isadore Twersky's Unique Contribution to the Study of The Guide of the Perplexed.” It is a presentation and analysis of five integral and interlocking components of Rabbi Professor Isadore (Yitzhak) Twersky's understanding of Maimonides' formulation of the relationship between the philosophic tradition and the Oral Law, particularly as expressed in the Moreh Nevukhim. Shmidman suggests that all of Maimonides' works, as viewed by Twersky, “promote the integration, the blending, the fusion of law and philosophy. We should not bifurcate the most central Jewish figure of the medieval era into Rambam the halakhist and Maimonides the philosopher, but rather view his work as one united entity.” Because R. Twersky's major scholarly focus was on the Mishneh Torah, his unique contribution to the study of The Guide of the Perplexed is, Shmidman suggests, sadly underappreciated—and that contribution is the focus of this essay. Michael A. Shmidman is Dean and Professor of Jewish History at Touro University Graduate School of Jewish Studies. This most recent essay originated as a lecture at a conference commemorating the 25th yahrzeit of R. Isadore Twersky convened at Yeshiva University's Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies at Yeshiva University (on September 11, 2022). We thought our readers would appreciate listening to Shmidman's talk alongside reading his essay at TraditionOnline.org. The recordings of all the lectures at that daylong event, “Understanding Halakhah, History & Spirituality,” can be found on Revel's YouTube channel—and we thank our friends at the Bernard Revel Graduate School for sharing this resource with our listeners.

As we continue to wrestle with the state of anxiety for what comes next at this troubling and traumatic time in Israel and around the Jewish world, we take strength from demonstrations of inspiring resilience and unity in our nation. We hope you've been following the content recently published on TraditionOnline.org responding to current events. In our upcoming Winter issue we hope to deliver some more substantive writing, tentative and initial as it may be, bringing the lens of Orthodox Jewish thought to bear on this war. In the meantime, as we try to make sense of things while navigating the maze we find ourselves in, we thought it would be useful to check in with TRADITION's “elder statesman,” Rabbi Emanuel Feldman, whose wisdom, insights, and opinions cast useful light in the darkness—perhaps even more so as he enters the back end of his 10th decade with all the intellectual rigor readers of our pages have been accustomed to since his first early contribution in 1960. (Read all of R. Feldman's TRADITION articles and columns here.) In this episode R. Feldman chats with our editor Jeffrey Saks about the current Gaza War in light of his memories of the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War; the challenges to Zionism and religious Zionism going forward; and his cautious optimism for a renewed Jewish spirit when the fog clears and we emerge victorious. They also talked about the role of TRADITION as a scholarly journal of ideas at a time such as this. Rabbi Emanuel Feldman served in the rabbinate in Atlanta for over 40 years before making his home in Jerusalem in 1991. He edited TRADITION from 1988 to 2001 and remains a valued counselor to our journal.

“The entire world is a very narrow bridge.” The world, all of life, is a “narrow bridge,” on either side of which is a gaping, terrifying abyss. Someone who does not live this experience cannot understand it. One needs to traverse the bridge, and it is clear from an objective perspective that he is capable of doing so. This is why “the main thing is not to fear at all.” Your greatest enemy is not outside of you, but, rather, inside of you. It is fear itself. So writes Prof. Shalom Rosenberg z”l in his essay “A Narrow Bridge: R Nahman of Breslov's Faith in a World of Doubt” appearing in TRADITION's recent Fall 2023 issue. Rosenberg was a distinguished professor of Philosophy and Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University and a widely-regarded public intellectual. He passed away in Jerusalem in March 2023. This essay was, of course, written and sent to press before our current traumatic moment in Israel — what all agree is a time in which we must find faith in a world of confusion and many are plagued by doubt. Because Rosenberg's essay presents itself to us with such unexpected timeliness, we thought it would be instructive to discuss it with Rabbi Dr. Zvi Leshem, himself a student of Rosenberg. Leshem is the director of the Gershom Scholem Collection for Kabbalah and Hasidism at the National Library of Israel. Read “A Narrow Bridge: R Nahman of Breslov's Faith in a World of Doubt” (TRADITION, Fall 2023).

During this time of worldwide Jewish unity, TRADITION is pleased to deliver an episode of our podcast co-produced with our friends at Matan: The Sadie Rennert Women's Institute of Torah Study in Jerusalem. Our recently released Fall 2023 issue features an essay by Dr. Yosefa Fogel Wruble titled “Psalm 139: When God's Presence Both Overwhelms and Eludes” which explores two exegetical prisms for Psalm 139 and the theological relevance in understanding this mizmor as a form of emotional struggle with God. Of course, when the essay was written, and when we went to press a few weeks ago, no one could have foreseen how its themes would become presciently relevant to our current moment—but that's often how it is with Torah learning. We thought it would be appropriate to chat with the author about her essay in light of the events on Simhat Torah and the war. Dr. Yosefa Fogel Wruble is a Ramit in the Women's Beit Midrash at Migdal Oz, a lecturer at Matan, and the host of the 1-on-1 Parsha Podcast from Matan which explores deep thematic points of the weekly Torah portion. For today's we turn the microphone back on her, making her the guest of this episode, for which she is joined by TRADITION's associate editor, Rabbi Yitzchak Blau. They discuss the feeling of being overwhelmed by God and the feeling of His absence. Wruble deepens her analysis and the conversation moves in some novel directions: How does the Psalmist's self-expression compare to the prophetic ambivalence of Jonah and Jeremiah? What are possible responses to our paradoxical experiences of feeling both His presence and absence Which related issues have the current situation brought to the fore? Read “Psalm 139: When God's Presence Both Overwhelms and Eludes” by Yosefa Fogel Wruble (TRADITION, Fall 2023).

TRADITION and the Rabbinical Council of America brought together authors from our recent issue on “The Yom Kippur War After 50 Years” as they discuss insights from their contributions to our pages and the sudden, tragic timeliness of that issue for events unfolding in Israel. Dr. Shlomo Fischer, Rabbi Jeffrey Saks, Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Sinensky and moderator Mrs. Mali Brofsky. TRADITION has made the content of our entire special “Yom Kippur War After 50 Years” issue (Summer 2023) open access as a special digital book: https://traditiononline.org/the-yom-kippur-war-after-50-years SUBSCRIBE TO THE TRADITION PODCAST Available on iTunes / Spotify / SoundCloud / Stitcher / Google Podcasts

TRADITION's Fall 2022 issue featured a lengthy essay by Todd Berman exploring a 6-decade-old critique launched by R. Eliezer Berkovits on Dr. Abraham J. Heschel's “Theology of Divine Pathos.” In brief, the debate centered on Heschel's contention that a prophet reacts to God's emotions, that the navi is guided by God's own feelings. For Berkovits, Heschel errs by aligning himself with the wrong side of the anthropomorphism and anthropopathism debate. Berkovits was a significant figure in mid-century Orthodox Jewish thought and was an important contributor to the pages of TRADITION. A noteworthy curiosity of Berkovits' critique of Heschel was its appearance with an editorial note expressing some reservation about this “controversial” offering, which “evoked sharp differences of opinion among members of our editorial board,” on which he served as a member at that time. Plus ça change. Berman's essay, with its defense of Heschel, similarly evoked sharp differences of opinion among our readers. Todd Berman joins the TRADITION Podcast to discuss the underpinnings of the original debate between Berkovits and Heschel; how the Orthodox community's reception of those ideas has evolved in perhaps surprising ways over the decades; and what aroused his interest in this old episode which turns out to be still quite relevant to contemporary Jewish thought. See Berman's essay, “Berkovits, Heschel, and the Heresy of Divine Pathos,” with links to Berkovits' original 1964 article, the array of reactions generated among our readers, and Berman's response. Rabbi Todd Berman is the Director of Institutional Advancement and a Ram at Yeshivat Eretz HaTzvi.

On April 23, 2023, TRADITION and the Rabbinical Council of America convened our first TRADITION Today Summit, hosted at Congregation Rinat Yisrael in Teaneck, NJ, exploring “Material Success and Its Challenges.” Among the papers presented at the event was a fascinating item co-authored by Avital Chizik-Goldschmidt and Chaim Saiman, “Material Success and the Rise of ‘Modern, Orthodoxy'” – in which a lot rides on the title's enigmatic comma. While the papers from the Summit will be appearing in an upcoming issue of TRADITION, in the hopes that the discussions and debates there will have a greater impact and reach within the broader community, we are rolling out some of the content through our journal's different media arms. In this episode of our podcast, editor Jeffrey Saks (who co-chaired the Summit with Shlomo Zuckier) chats with Saiman about the paper and the unique and curious ways in which the markers of Orthodoxy's material aspirations each respond to the halakhic requirements and religious aspirations of persons who live fully within Orthodoxy and who are invested in its continuity. Chaim Saiman is Professor of Law and Chair in Jewish Law at Villanova University's Charles Widger School of Law, and Albert J. Wood Fellow at the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, University of Pennsylvania. Watch a video recording of the conversation.

Three decades following the passing of the Rav zt”l his legacy endures and his teachings still inspire – but how do we communicate his Torah to a generation “which did not know Yosef” (R. Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik, that is)? This is a question that is explored from a few different angles in TRADITION's recent expanded issue on the thought of the Rav.  Readers of the special issue will discover that one of the many insightful perspectives on this particular question is offered by Mali Brosky, whose essay “The Rav's Enduring Pedagogical Relevance” takes up the challenge of how we can best convey R. Soloveitchik's thought, hashkafa, and philosophy to students born over a decade after his death and almost a generation after he left the public stage. It is indeed complex, but crucial, and Brofsky makes a compelling case for why it's more important than ever, offering some lessons from her many years of teaching. She recently discussed her essay on the podcast she co-hosts, RZ Weekly, which surveys issues facing the Religious Zionist community in Israel and worldwide. It's an engaging weekly roundtable conversation between Mali and her educational colleagues, Johnny Solomon and Reuven Spolter. We thank them for allowing us to share the segment of this episode over our feed  – search for RZ Weekly on all podcasting platforms to subscribe.  Subscribers can access the  essay alongside some open-access content available to all at https://traditiononline.org/rabbisoloveitchik120issue where the issue can be purchased as well. Mali Brofsky is a senior faculty member at Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim, teaches for Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Hebrew University, and runs a clinical social work practice in Gush Etzion.

Our editor, Jeffrey Saks, offers this audio version of his Editor's Note introducing TRADITION's special issue on the thought of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zt”l. In Saks' essay, “We Read the Rav to Know We Are Not Alone in Loneliness” (open access here), he shares his own personal encounter with the Rav's writings at a pivotal moment in his own religious development, and discusses the important role the Rav played in the American Orthodox scene and in the pages of our journal.  Click here to see the contents of the new issue, sample open-access content, and order your copy. 

Here we are, days before the arrival of Passover. If we are not drowning in cleaning products, chances are we're doing the equally important work—perhaps more important work—of reflecting on the Exodus story in advance of Seder night. A highlight of this week's observances is the recounting of the biblical Ten Plagues. In an interesting new book, Dr. Jeremy Brown considers the Eleventh Plague, a kind of catch-all phrase he uses to explore how Jews as a people and Judaism as a religious tradition have encountered and responded to plagues, disease, and pandemics from the Bible right up to our own days of COVID-19. Dr. Jeremy Brown, Director of the Office of Emergency Care Research at the National Institutes of Health, is a physician and historian of science and medicine. TRADITION's Winter 2021 issue featured his essay “The Plague Wedding,” which was republished as a chapter in his most recent book, "The Eleventh Plague: Jews and Pandemics from the Bible to COVID-19" (Oxford University Press). The TRADITION Podcast recently caught up with Brown to talk about his work, traditional Jewish responses to plague and disease, and, more generally, his assessment of how Jewish thought and halakhic tradition have responded over time to such occurrences—and how we fared during the most recent pandemic. Jeremy considers the long arc of history and does so through the prisms of theology, halakha, ritual, and folk custom (some admittedly bizarre—including the so-called shvartse khasene or plague wedding, about which he wrote in our pages). He balances this with the insights and wisdom drawn from history, epidemiology, medical science, sociology, and public policy.  The host for this episode is Jeffrey Saks, editor of TRADITION. Watch a video recording of this conversation.

Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg is an internationally recognized teacher and lecturer around the English-speaking world and, each week, in multiple settings in Jerusalem, where her unique style of integrating keen readings of the weekly Torah portion with the commentaries of midrash, classical meforshim, Hasidic interpretation, and more, are supplemented by the insights she draws from philosophy, psychoanalytical readings, literature, and culture at large – the “best that's been thought and said,” as it were. Her work has inspired generations of students, and has produced a very rich body of six volumes on biblical books and themes.  TRADITION's Winter 2021 issue featured her essay “On Love, Holiness, and the Other,” and, channeling the work of psychoanalyst Jonathan Lear and R. Aharon Lichtenstein, explored the “command to aspire” as an ethical imperative. That essay has now appeared as part of a larger chapter in her most recent book, The Hidden Order of Intimacy: Reflections on the Book of Leviticus (Schocken). As the Jewish world commences our annual reading of Leviticus this week the TRADITION Podcast spoke with Zornberg about her new book, the unusual way it came about, and the intellectual “atmosphere” she breathes in order to produce works of Torah scholarship that bring together such wide-ranging voices. We also discussed the troubling state of the study of the humanities in the world today and within Jewish learning in particular. The host for this episode is Jeffrey Saks, editor of TRADITION. Watch a video recording of this conversation.

Recording of Rabbi Chaim Brovender and Mrs. Mali Brofsky in conversation to mark the 120th birthday of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zt"l. Hosted by TRADITION and WebYeshiva.org (12 Adar/March 5, 2023).