Talmud
What Shavuot teaches about Israel’s haredi military service debate
On Shavuot, we recenter Torah study as our supreme value, even as we divert some of its precious human resources toward protecting our people and defending our land.
Once, Jews defended themselves to survive. Now this reflects defeat - opinion
Lag Ba’omer reminds us to choose respect over division among Jews - opinion
Parashat Emor: The social revolution
Maccabean war vs long-lasting oil: What is the true essence of Hanukkah? - opinion
The Talmud says that on Hanukkah, we celebrate the miracle of the oil. Secularists claim the essence of Hanukkah is to celebrate the Maccabean victory.
This Yom Kippur, we must jump the barricades and become a unified Jewish state – opinion
We must find it in ourselves to connect with God and each other, whatever it takes.
Yom Kippur: Finding hope in times of uncertainty
To embrace, simultaneously, the unknown alongside the knowable has indeed given us the strength and courage to find hope.
Hadassah University Medical Center solves biblical mystery with ancient seed
The first 2,000-year-old date seedling was named Methuselah (after the longest-lived person in the Bible) and is now impressively tall at Ketura.
This week in Jewish history: The start of the IDF draft and the Daf Yomi cycle
A highly abridged version of the daily Dust & Stars.
Jewish texts permit celebrating the death of enemies - opinion
If Rabbi Boteach does not want to rejoice at the demise of one of humankind’s evilest men, that is his prerogative, but the Jewish sources as they actually appear give the green light.
'The Madwoman in the Rabbi’s Attic': Gila Fine’s fine book on women in the Talmud - review
Gila Fine’s The Madwoman in the Rabbi’s Attic reexamines Talmudic women, challenging stereotypes and offering fresh, scholarly perspectives on their roles and stories.
Meet the teenaged girl who read the Talmud in two-and-a-half years
Though women have been historically forbidden or discouraged from learning the Talmud, Elke Bentley's family has always supported her pursuit of Torah study.
The red heifer: A statute with a cause - opinion
As a people bound to our Jewish texts, we question and delve into the unknowable to understand our relationship to God and mitzvot more fundamentally.
Newly discovered link between Hercules, Israel suggests cultural exchange in region - study
2,800-year-old stamp in Tel Hazor connects Hercules to northern Israel, depicting a hero battling a seven-headed serpent, reflecting Levantine visual culture and myth transmission complexities
