Articles

Could It Happen Here? American Jewish Writers and the Shadow of the Holocaust As antisemitism surges globally, historian Dr. Asael Abelman turns to American Jewish literature for answers. From Philip Roth’s alternate histories to Cynthia Ozick’s identity struggles, these writers confront urgent questions: What do we owe our murdered ancestors? Could there be a Holocaust of American Jews? And what is the true cost of Holocaust memory? By Yehonatan Ben Sasson

Parashat Korah: Timeless Political Strategy The biblical story of Korah’s rebellion offers striking lessons for today’s politics. This wilderness uprising shows how populist leaders use sacred language to flatter audiences and challenge authority – ancient tactics that remain dangerously relevant in our divided times By Lior Tal Sadeh

Parashat Shlach: Through Trusting Eyes The story of the twelve spies in Parashat Shlach raises a puzzling question: How can the same reality be interpreted so differently? Modern psychology offers insights into this ancient tale of trust, fear, and the power of perspective By Lior Tal Sadeh

Parashat Behaalotecha: “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets” True greatness isn’t measured by how indispensable we make ourselves, but by how successfully we cultivate the very gifts that might render us unnecessary. Moses understood that the highest calling of any leader is to dream of a day when everyone can hear the divine voice for themselves By Lior Tal Sadeh

A Room of Her Own: How Nurit Zarchi Changed Children's Literature in Israel Nurit Zarchi has already written more than 160 books in which she switches from dreams to reality and back again, inspiring hope in her readers, young and old alike By Hadar Ben-Yehuda

Parashat Naso: Drinking the Bitter Water The Torah’s ritual of the Sotah – where a woman suspected of adultery must drink a mixture with supernatural characteristics – represents one of scripture’s most disturbing passages. This ancient trial by ordeal forces us to confront uncomfortable truths about jealousy, patriarchy, and the persistence of domestic violence from biblical times till today By Lior Tal Sadeh

To Be with His People When Leonard Cohen traded his Greek island idyll for the Sinai Desert during one of Israel’s darkest hours, he created an enduring legend. Now, fifty years later, Beit Avi Chai brings this extraordinary chapter to life through music, rare footage, and Cohen’s own wartime journals – a production that resonates even more profoundly in the wake of October 7 By Alex Stein

The Genius Between the ancient wisdom of the Talmud and the cutting-edge philosophy of the Islamic Golden Age stood Sa’adia Gaon – a brilliant mind who refused to choose between tradition and innovation. His extraordinary legacy spans continents and centuries, from his Arabic Torah translation still used by Yemenite Jews to his pioneering dictionary work that revolutionized Hebrew scholarship By BAC Staff

Parashat Bamidbar: The “Journey To” Is More Difficult than the “Journey From” Explore how the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness reveals surprising insights about tribal identity and national unity in today's Israel By Lior Tal Sadeh

Languages of the Soul Professor Yoram Bilu, one of the pioneers of psychological anthropology, returns to the turning point when he abandoned Freudian clinical practice in favor of dream interpretation, folk Kabbalah, and Tzadikim worship rituals, and talks about the understanding that not every distress speaks the same language By Noa Sorek

Between Mount Meron and Mount Herzl: Pilgrimage and Psychology “Life’s small problems are meant for the righteous, because religion and God are here to solve the big problems.” Anthropologist Prof. Yoram Bilu explains the deep need for visiting the tombs of the righteous By Noa Sorek

Parashat Behar: The Fifty-Year Reset The biblical Jubilee – a fifty-year economic reset that cancels debts and redistributes land – found an unlikely champion in Ze'ev Jabotinsky, the anti-socialist founder of right-wing Revisionist Zionism. Discover how this fierce defender of economic freedom came to embrace an ancient model of periodic wealth redistribution, and what his vision might teach us about balancing markets with morality today By Lior Tal Sadeh

Jews Living in Modernity and Not Merely Beside It For two millennia, the Talmud – not the Hebrew Bible – stood at the center of Judaism. Discover how modern thinkers from Spinoza to Ben-Gurion revolutionized this hierarchy, placing the Tanakh at Judaism’s core through philosophical and secular reinterpretations By Melody Barron