Israel’s Declaration of Independence: A Biography
Who wrote Israel's founding document and how does it express Israel’s values?
Letters, Spring 2023
Cliff-Hangers When I first read Hillel Halkin’s assertion in “On That Distant Day” (Winter 2023) that “for years now, Israel has seemed to me like a man sleepwalking toward a cliff” and “now we’ve fallen from it,” I thought it was excessive, though I shared his concerns about the Likud’s coalition partners (Zionist theocrats, anti-Zionist free-riders). Writing now, in the…
Nothing but Literature
Kafka’s unabridged diaries are, for the first time, available in English. What do they teach us about a man who was a lacuna of himself?
Prince of the Lost Tribes
Years before Shabbtai Zevi emerged, another Jewish radical tore across Europe, gathering followers and generating dissent.
Roots in Heaven, Branches on Earth
Nothing sounds more idolatrous than drawing God. But that is just what a diverse bunch of medieval Jewish visionaries and scribblers set out to do.
Satmar, American-Style
The explosive growth of Satmar Hasidim has shocked and worried many who see their culture as un-American. But two new books argue it was only in America that the sect could have flourished at all.
Tangled Truly
Letters of ink. Letters of the heart.
When Canines Were in the Land
Did dogs save the Jewish State?
Lost in Translation: Song of Songs and Passover
Why is this Targum different from all other Targums?
The First Maggid—How Memory Made the Jews
3,500 years ago, Israelite parents explained wonders to their children and created the very first Maggid story.