Machshava/Jewish Thought | Torah Library of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah

When Doubt Enters the Room

by Michelle Friedman, MD Posted on November 7, 2016

Jeremy graduates from public high school after attending the local community day school that ends at 8th grade. He enters college at a large state university and takes a course in comparative religion. His roommate, Partha, is a smart, friendly young man from an Indian Hindu background.…

Mussar and Modernity: R. Yisrael Salanter’s Mussar Thought and His Response To Modernity

by Rabbi Yitz Greenberg Posted on November 2, 2016

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Rav Kook’s Critique of the Mussar Movement

by Rabbi Yitzchak Blau Posted on November 2, 2016

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Killing Killers: Is the Death Penalty Good for the Jews?

by Rabbi Haggai Resnikoff Posted on November 2, 2016

There is significant tension in the Torah literature regarding the death penalty. On one hand, the written Torah clearly supports the use of the death penalty although it is not so clear why. On the other hand, the Rabbis seem to be uncomfortable with it, apparently out of concerns for judicial error and perhaps also because of their discomfort with direct retaliation.…