The story of the Tower of Babel is one of the most enigmatic in the entire Hebrew Bible. Though terse—the narrative is just nine verses long—this tale has inspired reams of commentary seeking to understand why humanity wished to build a tower, why doing so was sinful, and what God’s punishment—the confounding of mankind’s speech—had […]

For modern readers, the story of Pinhas is one of the most vexing episodes in the Hebrew Bible. The Israelites have been seduced by foreign women, and the head of the tribe of Simeon has ceremoniously escorted the daughter of Midian’s king into his tent. In an act of seemingly unsanctioned zealotry, Pinhas take his […]

Press play below to listen to the podcast, download it in the iTunes Store, or stream it via Stitcher.  Chapter 1: Anti-Biblical Bias Chapter 2: Against the Imperial State Chapter 3: Subtleties and Trade-Offs Chapter 4: From Tribal Anarchy to the Limited State In the last decade, a fascinating area of political thought has begun to receive increasing […]

Press play below to listen to the podcast, download it in the iTunes Store, or stream it via Stitcher.  Chapter 1: Conversion and Restoration Chapter 2: Mordecai Manuel Noah and Ararat Chapter 3: Scripture, the Geneva Bible, and the Catholic Church Chapter 4: Is American Christianity Different? Chapter 5: Blackstone, Fosdick, and Niebuhr  Chapter 6: The Christian Right […]

The world of the Hebrew Bible—with its prophets, revelations, and open miracles—can seem so foreign that it is sometimes difficult to see what practical lessons it can impart about sustaining faith and structuring society in the modern world. But one book of Scripture stands out for its striking resemblance to our own age. The Book […]

In recent decades, the holiday of Tu B’Shvat has increasingly been celebrated as a Jewish Earth Day, marked by the celebration of nature and environmentalist activism. But is that really what Tu B’Shvat is about? In this brief conversation with Tikvah Executive Director Eric Cohen, Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik takes a closer look at the […]

Press play below to listen to the podcast, download it in the iTunes Store, or stream it via Stitcher.  Chapter 1: The Purpose of Interfaith Dialogue Chapter 2: How Not to Conduct Jewish-Christian Dialogue Chapter 3: Jews, Christians, and Israel Chapter 4: Lowest Common Denominators Nostra Aetate, the Catholic Church’s 1965 Declaration on the Relation of the Church […]

Press play below to listen to the podcast, download it in the iTunes Store, or stream it via Stitcher.  Chapter 1: Who Was Leo Strauss? Chapter 2: Esotericism, Revelation, and the Limits of Reason Chapter 3: The Philosophic Life Chapter 4: Historicism vs. Natural Right Chapter 5: Strauss as a Jewish Thinker Friends and critics alike agree that […]

Press play below to listen to the podcast, download it in the iTunes Store, or stream it via Stitcher. Chapter 1: Death, Dignity, and the Chevra Kadisha Chapter 2: The Work of the Burial Society Chapter 3: True Kindness Chapter 4: Can Dying Teach Us How to Live? Death is an uncomfortable topic. It has deprived us of people […]

Press play below to listen to the podcast, download it in the iTunes Store, or stream it via Stitcher. Chapter 1: The Jewish Response to Crisis Chapter 2: Assimilation, Resistance, or Isolation? Chapter 3: A Different Jewish Politics Chapter 4: Sovereignty and the Creative Minority Chapter 5: The End of History and Hopes for the Future From the breakdown […]