David Lasher

A widely known, at least in the Jewish world, rabbinic maxim states that there are “shiv’im panim laTorah” (literally translated, 70 faces to [every item in the] Pentateuch). This phrase has been taken to mean that a plethora of interpretive possibilities lie within the words of the Pentateuch (Torah). As such, it is no wonder that rabbinic homilies often start off with the line, “there is a famous disagreement between one commentator and another … Continue Reading »

There is a great deal of merit in Rabbi Ben Greenberg’s view that shared Torah study can do more to foster Jewish inclusiveness than shared ritual. As an Orthodox Jew I have benefitted from shared study with Jews of non-Orthodox denominations … Continue Reading »

After ClimateGate, scientists are asking how to fix their image. While Erin Biba in Wired blithely suggests better PR, Kenneth P. Green and Hiwa Alaghebandian at The American looks for the cause of our mistrust . They blame the authoritarian tone that they convincingly show has been adopted in . . . . Continue Reading »