by R. Yitzchak Blau Among his many works, Maharal penned one of the most important supercommentaries on Rashi (Gur Aryeh), an insightful commentary on the aggadic portions of shas (Hiddushei Aggadot) and a defense of Hazal from seven critiques (Be’er Hagolah). Yet he is most well know in the popular imagination for creating a golem. When did this legend originate?  What ...

by R. Yitzchak Blau Hazal depict the Hanukkah story in two major locations: in a famous gemara (Shabbat 21b) and in the al ha-nissim prayer.   Neither source mentions a clash with Jewish Hellenizers or Matityahu killing a Jewish idolater, historical episodes attested to in The Book of Maccabees.   If this was a conscious omission by Hazal, what motivated it?  For ...

by R. Yitzchak Blau In the 1960’s, Tradition served as the vehicle for some of Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik’s most important essays. The Spring Summer issue of 1964 (link) included “Confrontation,” the Rav’s essay on interfaith dialogue. The Summer issue from 1965 (link) featured “The Lonely Man of Faith,” the Rav’s great essay on the religious predicament of modern man. ...

by R. Yitzchak Blau Modern Orthodoxy consistently confronts the challenge of determining which aspects of the broader world are worthwhile, which neutral, and which negative. In 1985, Dr. David Singer contributed a provocative essay discussing a frum Jew vacationing in Club Med. Does this reflect praiseworthy synthesis or problematic compartmentalization? Rabbi Shalom Carmy’s insightful response raises may important questions for ...

by R. Yitzchak Blau Tension between the biblical account of creation and current scientific theories about the origin of the universe has generated a variety of religious responses. One such response, concordism, tries to show that the biblical account actually teaches the ideas of contemporary scientific theory. In this carefully argued article, Dr. David Shatz outlines two arguments for and ...

by R. Yitzchak Blau Hassidic thought often emphasizes a divine immanence that transcends differences since it finds the holy in every location. Kabbalistic ideas stress the yearning for ultimate unity. What are the advantages and pitfalls of these ideas? In the early years of Tradition, two titans of Modern Orthodoxy debated this question. Rabbi Norman Lamm sees monism as a ...

by R. Yitzchak Blau The RCA and Tradition magazine is pleased to announce that we have opened up our archives to the general public.   All the back issues from 1958 through 2012 are available at http://traditionarchive.org/archives/. We encourage you to read the material there and to share it with your congregants, students, and peers. As a regular feature, we will bring important ...