State of the Nation

The Protection of Nationhood

BY MEIRA LUTCH Operation Lone Star—one of the most contentious immigration-control mechanisms in modern American history—was launched by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in March 2021. The operation was designed to…

Arts & Culture

Tanakh

Korahite Judicial Philosophy

BY JACOB SHAYEFAR Korah makes an interesting point. As the Midrash relates, Korah began his assault on the authority of Moses with a halakhic argument. He asserts that in any…

Symposium

The Purpose Embedded in Every Nation

BY LIR YISSAR The struggle to understand how God could choose just one nation, and give such purpose and responsibility to one nation, has been a persistent question for Jews…

Poetry

Vast as the Stars and Sand

BY ELISHAMA SCHWARTZ Some of us lounge with verdant backyards and homey porchesOthers are squeezed by neighboring skyscrapers and smokeButEither waysometime in winter,I’ll be comforted by the beam of the…

The Sacrifice

BY NAOMI RUTTENBERG Deep within evil lies a thought worn of timeIt eagerly accepts a grant of evilThe sacrifice?You know itA scapegoat lit on fire subject to a rhymePoetry cursed…

The Ascent of the Fallen

BY SARAH BARON We are lost and foundFree yet also constrainedMany fall by the dayLost ones float up to the skyMore and moreInnocent livesLone soldiersOff the plane they emerge as…

Forever

BY RAPHAEL UNGER I was quietI would not speak,I thought that no one would remember me,Me and my little idiosyncrasies. If you’re quiet,then who will care to listen—To look and…

Creative Writing

Right Before His Eyes

BY ARI UNGER Jacob wore a tightly buttoned plaid shirt. He had a thin, carefully trimmed mustache, and nicely pressed slacks. He sat on the couch, which was carefully covered…

Book Club