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Jewish philosophy

An image of former British chief rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks from 2013. (Courtesy © Blake-Ezra Photography Ltd.)
November 11, 2025, 11:01 am
Five years after his death, online course aims to make Rabbi Sacks’s philosophy go global
A scholar mentored by Sacks hopes to preserve and disseminate the former UK chief rabbi’s legacy as one of the greatest modern Jewish thinkers
By Rossella Tercatin
Detail from an illustration from 'Qohelet: Searching for a Life Worth Living,' by Israeli philosopher Menachem Fisch and American artist Debra Band. (Courtesy)
October 18, 2024, 12:14 pm
This Sukkot, a new book gives a daring – and beautiful – reassessment of Ecclesiastes
In ‘Qohelet: Searching for a Life Worth Living,’ Israeli philosopher Menachem Fisch and American artist Debra Band paint the ancient eponymous text in a more optimistic light
By Rich Tenorio
Yitzhak Melamed looks at a bust of Spinoza in a screenshot from the film, 'Spinoza: 6 Reasons for the Excommunication of the Philosopher.' (Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
September 1, 2023, 8:05 am
A film on Spinoza that got its crew banned by an Amsterdam rabbi is making waves
The heretical Jewish philosopher was excommunicated by his community in 1656 for his ideas. A newly released documentary about him had a similar reception – but critics love it
By Rich Tenorio
Clockwise from left: Arthur Szyk, Maimonides, New Canaan,1950, Watercolor and gouache on paper. (Collection of Yeshiva University Museum, gift of Louis Werner); Moses Maimonides' Commentary on the Mishnah, Egypt, after 1168. (The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford); Guide of the Perplexed, Barcelona, 1347 or 1348, by Moses Maimonides. (The Royal Danish Library, Copenhagen/ all images from the Yeshiva University Museum exhibition 'The Golden Path: Maimonides Across Eight Centuries')
May 23, 2023, 4:00 am
Legacy of 12th-century rabbi, doctor and thinker Moses Maimonides on display in NY
‘The Golden Path: Maimonides Across Eight Centuries,’ a Yeshiva University exhibit, shows the far-reaching impact of one of the Middle Age’s most prolific Torah scholars
By Cathryn J. Prince
'Judaism in a Digital Age,' by Rabbi Danny Schiff. (Book cover courtesy of Palgrave Macmillan/ Portrait courtesy of Joshua Franzos)
February 14, 2023, 2:25 am
As non-Orthodox Judaism wanes, a rabbi sees an updated mission in the digital age
In his new book, Danny Schiff urges a return to the religion’s roots, shifting focus from synagogue attendance to being a moral beacon in an age of wild technological advancement
By Toby Tabachnik
Clergy, members and guests celebrate the 100th anniversary of SAJ-Judaism that Stands for All, the flagship Reconstructionist synagogue on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, January 29, 2022. (Courtesy Comptroller Brad Lander/ via JTA)
February 9, 2022, 3:26 am
Manhattan synagogue marks its 100th year as Reconstructionist Judaism’s flagship
SAJ will host events throughout 2022 that examine the influence of founder Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan and his movement on contemporary American Jewish life
By Stewart Ain
Rabbi Shira Stutman and actor Joshua Malina are the new voices behind 'Chutzpod!' (Courtesy)
January 14, 2022, 1:29 am
An actor and a rabbi teamed up to make a Jewish podcast that’s not just for Jews
In the new weekly ‘Chutzpod,’ Sixth and I’s Rabbi Shira Stutman and ‘West Wing’ star Joshua Malina make light work of life’s heavy questions for Members of the Tribe – and friends
By Cathryn J. Prince
The cover of the book 'The Wondering Jew,' (left) by author Micah Goodman (right). (Courtesy/Shalom Hartman Institute)
February 26, 2021, 7:45 am
PODCAST: Author Micah Goodman on Israelis’ ongoing search for Jewish identity
Popular philosopher lays out Israeli Jews’ foundational religious and secular thinkers, ultra-Orthodoxy’s ‘optical illusion’ and the paradox of Purim
By ToI Staff
Philosopher Dr. Micah Goodman (screenshot)
September 22, 2020, 12:57 am
Join ToI Community for best-selling author Micah Goodman on global polarization
Access Wednesday’s Behind the Headlines webinar by becoming a ToI Community member to hear a discussion with the philosopher on the wisdom of uncertainty
By ToI Staff
Martin Buber in his Jerusalem study, 1963. (Courtesy of the Martin Buber Literary Estate)
January 13, 2020, 4:04 am
Childhood trauma may have led to Martin Buber’s cerebral trust in higher power
In ‘Martin Buber: A Life of Faith and Dissent,’ Hebrew University prof Paul Mendes-Flohr delves into famed Jewish philosopher’s spirituality and complex relationship with Zionism
By JP O’ Malley
Rabbi Benjamin Blech, author of 'Hope, Not Fear: Changing the Way We View Death.' (Yeshiva University)
April 12, 2019, 10:54 pm
After a grim prognosis, this rabbi turned to Judaism for how to live with death
Eight years after being given months to live, Yeshiva University professor Benjamin Blech releases a new book on why people need not fear going gently into the good night
By Cathryn J. Prince
Mara Benjamin
June 22, 2018, 2:44 pm
Mara Benjamin
The desecration at the US border
Separating parents and children severs the cord tethering people to their own humanity and to God
Rabbi Ira Dounn of the Princeton Center for Jewish Life addressing the Collegiate Moot Beit Din competition Sunday, April 15 as freshman Abraham Waserstein, who organized the event, looks on. (Courtesy of the Princeton Center for Jewish Life/via JTA)
April 24, 2018, 2:50 am
Does Judaism allow torture? These college students think so
Ancient Jewish texts are the only sources consulted in this Princeton University Jewish moot court competition that sees students from across the country debate a hot topic
By Ben Sales
The 1804 painting, 'Der Voller,' or, 'The Full One,' by George Emmanuel Opitz. (Public domain)
February 28, 2018, 2:31 pm
How the Talmud helped inspire one scholar’s case for eating ethically this Purim
Jonathan K. Crane of Emory University draws upon sacred and secular sources — including midrashic wisdom — to remind us that enough is as good as a feast
By Rich Tenorio
Nathan Lopes Cardozo
November 1, 2017, 3:41 pm
Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Judaism needs novelty to survive
Many want a teacher to make all matters of faith fall into place, but I am always questioning and seeking
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