Parashat Ha’azinu: Ha’azinu’s Non-Sequitor by Yaakov Bieler

The poem’s structure. According to MaLBIM, the poem in Ha’azinu (Devarim 32:1-43)[1] can be divided into six sections: 1) (32:1-6) Charging heavens and earth to serve as witnesses for the account of Jewish history and prophetic predictions regarding the future of the Jews; 2) (Ibid. 7-12) The Divine Kindnesses that had been Extended to the [...]

Parashat VaYeilech: A Confluence of Emotions by Yaakov Bieler

The final two Mitzvot of the Tora. Although Parashat VaYelech is the shortest of all Parashiot,[1] according to Sefer HaChinuch, it  contains the last two Mitzvot Given by God via Moshe to the Jews. Both of these Mitzvot focus on contrasting ways by which the Tora will serve as a source of information and inspiration [...]

Decoding a Tora Cipher – Parashat Nitzavim – by Rabbi Yaakov Bieler

Scruitinizing variations in the appearance of portions of the Tora. In addition to subjecting the verses of the Tora to close reading in order to notice the many subtle nuances of language upon which are based numerous literary, legal and theological inferences and derivations, variations in the appearance of the words and letters of the [...]

Parashat Ki Tavo: Blessings & Curses by Yaakov Bieler

The earliest reference to the blessings and curses that were pronounced prior to the Jewish people’s entering Israel. In Parashat Re’eh, a first reference is made to a portentous ritual that marks the beginning of the Jewish people’s relationship with the Promised Land. Devarim 11:29-30 And it will be when the Lord your God Brings [...]

Tradition 45:2 Now Available Online! Featuring Two Articles on the Philosophy of Rav Shagar

‘Good and Very Good’: Moderation and Extremism in the Scheme of Creation by Norman Lamm As We Are Now is Not The Only Way to Be: On the Place of the Humanities in Contemporary Religious Culture by Shalom Carmy Torah Study for Contemporary Times: Conservatism or Revolution? by Yair Dreyfus ‘And Now the Child Will [...]