Torah

What South Park and Dante get wrong about the Hebrew Bible’s Hell - study

A new academic essay argues that the fiery underworld familiar from Dante, TV, and pop culture replaced the Hebrew Bible’s older, quieter idea of Sheol.

|ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Dante and Virgil in the Second Circle of Hell, 1823. Found in the Collection of Thorvaldsens Museum, Copenhagen. Artist Koch, Joseph Anton (1768-1839).
Hillel was not asking for perfect emotion.

Love isn’t enough: Faith in humanity through the lens of the Torah

In a fractured world, Torah reminds us through Akiva, Hillel and Ben Azzai that every person carries dignity, meaning and divine image.

|ByMOSHE TARAGIN
Israeli soldiers guard near stickers of victims killed in the October 7 massacre and ongoing Iron Swords War at the Bental water reservoir near Kibbutz Merom Golan, in the Golan Heights, October 7, 2025.

Israel must break free from the dangerous status quo - opinion

What once felt like stability in Israel is now revealed as dangerous inertia with real costs across security, society, and faith.

|ByJONATHAN LIEBERMAN
That mission is rooted in the fusion of the sacred and the everyday.

Parashat Acharei Mot-Kedoshim: The promise of permanence

The covenant endures. The people have returned. And, as the Malbim teaches, we shall never again be cast out.

|ByMICHAEL FREUND

From tragedy to protection: The fight against agunah status - opinion

Jewish families can protect wives from agunah status through halachic prenups and wartime authorizations, ensuring resilience even in tragedy.

MARCH 1, 2026ByRACHEL LEVMORE
Photo of Sarah M., one of the 12 cases resolved this month by Yad La’Isha of Ohr Torah Stone.

When Jewish law fails: Decades-long struggle of Jewish women seeking freedom - opinion

Even with legal tools, Jewish women who are trapped in bad marriages wait years for divorce.

MARCH 1, 2026ByPNINA OMER
A WOMAN seeking divorce in a ‘beit din’ was the sole female in the room until the advent of ‘toanot.’ (Illustrative)

Parashat Zachor: Remembering Amalek in every generation

Amalek exploits spiritual weakness; Parashat Zachor calls on us to strengthen our identity and faith in every generation.

FEBRUARY 27, 2026ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ
Cooling the bath: Amalek.

Beyond the headlines: A mindset of joy - opinion

A weekly glimpse into the Israel you won’t read about in the news.

FEBRUARY 23, 2026BySIVAN RAHAV MEIR
Israelis are seen in costume for the holiday of Purim, in Jerusalem.

It's time for the Western Wall to be a home for every Jew - opinion

The Western Wall belongs to every Jew, and it’s time Israel honors equality, pluralism, and shared heritage.

FEBRUARY 22, 2026ByYOCHI RAPPEPORT
A general view of Jerusalem's Old City shows the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in the foreground and the Dome of the Rock, located on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in the background June 24, 2019

Jewish return to Temple Mount brings renewed memory and hope - opinion

Jews are returning to the Temple Mount, reconnecting prayer, memory, and faith in the place their hearts have longed for.

FEBRUARY 21, 2026ByMICHAEL FREUND
At first glance, it reads like an architectural blueprint rather than sacred literature.

Parashat Teruma: Sanctifying the heart

Each person is a walking Temple; each has the power to build a dwelling place for the Creator of the world within his or her heart.

FEBRUARY 20, 2026ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ
Stars bursting above the triangular peak of the mountain that may be Mount Sinai in the middle of the night, in Saudi Arabia.

Parashat Teruma: Religion in partial measures

Even the ark’s imperfect measurements teach a profound lesson: living God’s will is a human endeavor, full of effort, devotion, and partial success.

FEBRUARY 20, 2026ByMOSHE TARAGIN
Timna Park tabernacle.

Beyond the Headlines: What do people say after keeping Shabbat for the first time? - opinion

A weekly glimpse into the Israel you won’t read about in the news.

FEBRUARY 16, 2026BySIVAN RAHAV MEIR
Over 100 Jewish-Israelis participate in the Kesher Yehudi Shabbaton in Jerusalem, Israel

The 11th commandment: Choose it or lose it - opinion

Embracing life in Israel is a spiritual mitzvah that connects Jews to God, their history, and religion.

FEBRUARY 15, 2026BySTEWART WEISS
‘I want to suggest an unwritten 11th commandment: To live in the Land of Israel.’