For much of the modern era, Jewish life rested, quietly but decisively, on an implicit promise. Power would be constrained by law. The State would bind itself to rules not solely invented for its own advantage. The weak would be protected not by benevolence but by structure. Jews, long practiced in the arts of minority survival, understood and benefited from this promise. Chaim Strauchler’s recent essay “ New/Old American-Jewish Realities ” at TraditionOnline.org asks what happens when those nor...
Feb 04, 2026•26 min
A Lecture Series by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Lecture 3: Delivered December 4, 1958 Modern philosophy knows of three approaches to the question, what is Man: the Biblical, the Classical Greek, and the modern scientific views. The Classical Greek and Biblical anthropologies agree that man is unique and incongruous with the natural order, while the modern scientific view considers man as just a more skilled animal. The Classical and Biblical views also agree that the uniqueness of man is not gr...
Feb 04, 2026•1 hr 51 min
A Lecture Series by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Lecture 2: Delivered November 20, 1958 The unique Jewish viewpoint should be placed in the context of Occidental (Western) thought and religion. However, we must avoid the danger of applying the categories and the question-set of the scientific world view, which is fundamentally pragmatic and utilitarian, to the paradoxical religious experience. We are not interested in a psychology of religion or anthropology of religion, but in a religious psych...
Jan 28, 2026•1 hr 44 min
A Jewish Philosophy of Man: A Lecture Series by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Lecture 1: Delivered November 6, 1958 Judaism, and religion in general, is a cognitive venture, seeking to intellectually grasp the world, and is not merely an emotional or ethical gesture. Unlike the scientist, who, until recently, was mostly interested in knowing the outside world, and unlike other Western religions, which focused their attention on theology, Judaism is concerned mainly with Man. It stresses a religio...
Jan 21, 2026•1 hr 26 min
Eli Rubin’s Kabbalah and the Rupture of Modernity (Stanford University Press) presents a groundbreaking study of Chabad Hasidism. Through close readings of primary texts, historical analysis, and engagement with modern philosophy, Rubin, a scholar and Chabad insider, traces the historical evolution of the movement’s theology. The result is an indispensable work for anyone wanting to better understand Chabad’s intellectual and historical trajectory. Todd Berman, author of a recent TRADITION revie...
Dec 21, 2025•1 hr 1 min
This week we’ll celebrate Shabbat, Rosh Hodesh, Hanukka—and all readers of TRADITION know what that means: Its Mrs. Cooperman’s Shabbat and a chance to check in with our distinguished editor emeritus, Rabbi Emanuel Feldman. 30 years ago, R. Feldman published one of our journal’s most memorable essays, “God and Mrs. Cooperman” (Winter 1995). Like other memes that have emerged from our pages—Adam I and Adam 2, Majesty and Humility, Rupture and Reconstruction—the concept of a “Mrs. Cooperman Shabba...
Dec 15, 2025•17 min
TRADITION is pleased to share this recording of a talk by Dr. Erica Brown delivered through Yeshiva University’s Sacks-Herenstein Center for Values and Leadership , commemorating the recent 5th yahrzeit of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. Brown speaks about her contribution to TRADITION ’s special issue on the Intellectual Legacy of Rabbi Sacks, titled “Staying Alive: The Dangers of Leadership” ( open access at TraditionOnline.org ). The essay examines the theme of leadership in a variety of R. Sacks’ work...
Nov 23, 2025•58 min
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks believed that, out of the science of positive psychology, and in conversation with cognitive behavioral therapy, a new Musar movement could be established. In this episode of the Tradition Podcast, Tamra Wright and Mordechai Schiffman begin to unpack what this might mean in light of their co-authored essay “ Radical Resilience: Hope, Agency and Community ,” from TRADITION ’s recent special issue on the intellectual legacy of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. They are joined for the conv...
Nov 16, 2025•47 min
As part of the Tradition Today Summit, held on November 9, 2025, convened by Yeshiva University’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Studies and TRADITION ’s publisher the Rabbinical Council of America, we hosted a community wide public Keynote Address by Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter on “ Historical Realities and Educational Methodologies: Then and Now.” This was the capstone to a daylong closed conference exploring “Educating Our Children to Be Ovdei Hashem in a Modern World: Challenges and Oppor...
Nov 12, 2025•1 hr 44 min
On Sunday, November 9th, 75 Jewish educators, rabbis, lay-leaders, and thought leaders gathered for the second Tradition Today Summit, convened together with Yeshiva University’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and TRADITION ’s publisher, the Rabbinical Council of America, on “Educating Our Children to Be Ovdei Hashem in a Modern World: Challenges and Opportunities.” Together we considered what we can do as a community to educate the next generation of committed Ovdei Hashem ? How ca...
Nov 11, 2025•26 min
In this episode of our podcast, Tzvi Sinensky, co-editor of TRADITION ’s special issue on the intellectual legacy of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, speaks with author Alex Israel about his essay in the volume, “ Not by Might: Aversion to Power in Rabbi Sacks’ Writings .” They begin with Rabbi Sacks’ 2016 debate with Rabbi Shlomo Riskin on the pages of The Jewish Review of Books about Judaism’s complicated relationship with power. From there, the conversation turns to Rabbi Sacks’ reading of Genesis as a ...
Nov 09, 2025•47 min
Listen to the recording of our online event marking the publication of TRADITION ‘s special volume, published in partnership with the Rabbi Sacks Legacy, exploring the intellectual legacy of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z”l (November 2, 2025). Host: Jeffrey Saks, with greetings from Menachem Penner and Gila Sacks. Editors Samuel Lebens and Tzvi Sinensky in conversation with authors Dov Lerner, Raphael Zarum, and Malka Z. Simkovich. Learn more about this volume or order a copy . Watch the video recording...
Nov 03, 2025•1 hr 11 min
