This article originally appeared in Ten Da'at 1996, 9:1, pp. 55-62. Reprinted here with permission. A Prefatory Plea Although I have given the matter much thought and have some ideas for the resolution of the difficulties I see in the teaching of halakhah, my purpose...
This article explores the role of women and the view of Rosh Chodesh as a women's holiday. To read the article, click here.
Originally published in Tradition 36 (2002) pp. 89-114. Appears here with permission. Any comprehensive overview of the concern for the human and social factor within halakha needs to relate, perhaps both substantively and historically, to several planes. We need to...
This article originally appeared in Tradition, 31 (4), Winter 1997. Appears here with permission. Hardly a single recent piece on the Book of Esther has failed to note at least a few of the book’s ironic situations and lines. Several authors have even argued that...
This article originally appeared in Tradition 16:1, 1976. Zionism in the twentieth century has created a framework for Jewish political activism. It expresses the revolutionary thrust of the Jewish people to become politically autonomous and responsible. It reflects...
Reprinted from Ten Da’at 9:1 Winter 1996 Most yeshivah students learn the pre-patriarchal biblical stories in the early years of elementary school, and for many this remains their only systematic study of any parts of Bereshit. This is most unfortunate, as the...
This article originally appeared in Tradition, Summer 1976. This article refers to the article "Halakhah as a Ground for Creating a Shared Spiritual Language" by David Hartman. To read it, click here. Rabbi Hartman has given us a strong case for the sharing of...
This article originally appeared in TRADITION 26:3, 1992. I.The theme of Pluralism, as it relates to the value of controversy and to the legitimacy and precise status of conflicting opinions, is fundamental to law and obviously constitutes a crucial conceptual and...
Since the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, its Independence Day or Yom ha-Atzmaut has been celebrated in a variety of ways. The religious community, at least that major part of it which saw in the founding of the State a historic blessing and a revelation of...
This article originally appeared in Tradition 13:4, 1973. INTRODUCTIONThe Halakhah is often depicted as a monolithic cohesive structure a massive pillar of solid iron. This description is based on several traditional teachings of the Talmudic Sages, mainly of aggadic...
