Study

Euthanasia: Medieval Sources

The major codes of Jewish law forbid actions that hasten death, but some allow the removal of impediments to death.

The Karaites: A Medieval Jewish Sect

The Karaites, biblical fundamentalists, challenged the authority of rabbinic Judaism.

Kabbalah: Origins of a Spiritual Adventure

The history of Kabbalah in Medieval Spain.

Agriculture in Israel

Agriculture plays a huge role in Israel's society.

Sabbatical and Jubilee Years as a Social and Political Vision

Behind these biblical practices is a vision of how politics, economics, and relations to the environment should be structured that makes manifest spiritual concerns as well.

Providing What is Lacking

Jewish texts on social justice describe the tension between providing what is needed and providing what is affordable.

Tzedakah Collectives: Sharing the Mitzvah of Tzedakah and More

Making decisions about tzedakah in the context of a group can be a powerful force in both deepening our spiritual lives and building community.

The Politics of Israeli Popular Music

In Israel, even the musical is political.

Greetings from Constantinople

A Sephardic Jew records his impression of the city and its Jewish inhabitants in the twelfth century.

The Denial of Free Will in Hasidic Thought

According to some Hasidic thinkers, human free will is an illusion; God causes all human actions.

The Influence of Non-Jewish Thinking on Jewish Thought

Jewish thinkers have both embraced and directly reacted to foreign ideas and philosophies.