Editor's Pick ·
How Israel’s Supreme Court Undermined Efforts to Conscript Haredim
The connection between two of the country’s most controversial issues isn’t what most people assume.
Yehoshua Pfeffer
Yehoshua Pfeffer, a rabbi and rabbinical judge, holds a law degree from the Hebrew University and clerked at the Israel Supreme Court. He has taught at a number of yeshivas, published widely on Jewish law and thought, and is currently directing programs for the haredi community in Israel for the Tikvah Fund.
Latest Content
Editor's Pick ·
Haredim Are Becoming More Israeli, as Israel Becomes More Suitable for Haredim
A paradigm shift.
Editor's Pick ·
Most Israeli Haredim See Themselves as Part of the Israeli State and Its Story
Despite one rabbi’s incendiary remarks.
Editor's Pick ·
A Haredi Call for a New Attitude toward Conscription
“We are overly occupied with unconvincing justifications for our refusal to enlist.”
Editor's Pick ·
How a Radical Trend in Jewish Theology Explains the Controversy over Haredim in the IDF
Does effort matter?
Editor's Pick ·
In the Face of Rising Anti-Semitism, Jews Must Declare Intellectual Independence
A haredi perspective on the anti-Jewish turn.
Editor's Pick ·
It’s Time for Haredi Jews to Become Part of Israel’s Story
An insider’s case for sending yeshiva students to the IDF.
Response ·
Left, Right, Haredi: Three Great Awakenings of the Gaza War
By Yehoshua PfefferAn unspeakable calamity befell the Jews of Israel on Simchat Torah 2023. The war in its wake is an absolute necessity, and its magnitude and duration are yet to be seen. The duty of the hour is the wa...
Editor's Pick ·
Can Haredim Save Zionism by Embracing It?
Combining a sense of Jewish brotherhood with a newfound civic responsibility.
Response ·
The Grandchild Clause’s Seeds of Compromise
By Yehoshua PfefferIn “ The Looming War Over Israel’s Law of Return ,” Rafi DeMogge writes that Israel’s “religious right believes in a state that is at its core first and foremost Jewish. . . . By contrast, the liberal...
Editor's Pick ·
A Haredi Reflection on the Zionist Miracle
A call to action and a trial.
Observation ·
Podcast: Yehoshua Pfeffer on Israel’s Social Schisms and How They Affect the Judicial Reform Debate
By Tikvah Podcast at Mosaic, Yehoshua PfefferCommitted to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
Response ·
Watch Our Conversation on the Rising Power of Haredi Judaism
By Eli Spitzer, Yehoshua PfefferThis month we published an essay by our columnist Eli Spitzer about the rising influence of ḥaredi Judaism and what it means for the balance of power in the Jewish world at large. Eli’s essay has at...
Editor's Pick ·
Haredi Jewry Confronts Its Own “Me Too” Crisis
Sensitivity to victims cannot dictate everything a society does. But there’s no excuse for ignoring accusations of sexual assault.
Observation ·
Podcast: Yehoshua Pfeffer on How Haredi Jews Think About Serving in the IDF
By Yehoshua Pfeffer, Tikvah Podcast at MosaicCommitted to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
Observation ·
Podcast: Yehoshua Pfeffer on the Coronavirus and Rethinking the Relationship between Haredim and Israeli Society
By Tikvah Podcast at Mosaic, Yehoshua PfefferCommitted to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
Editor's Pick ·
The Coronavirus Has Exposed the Weaknesses of Israeli Ultra-Orthodoxy, but the Only Solution Can Come from Within
Recovering a sense of civic virtue from within the Jewish tradition.
Observation ·
The Best Books of 2020, Chosen by Mosaic Authors (Part III)
By Gary Saul Morson, Yehoshua Pfeffer, Daniel Polisar, Neil Rogachevsky, Michael WeingradCommitted to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
Editor's Pick ·
In the 20th Century, Ultra-Orthodoxy Protected Itself by Building High Walls. In the 21st, It Must Sustain Itself by Reaching over Those Walls
The case for embracing conservative ideas.
Observation ·
Podcast: Yehoshua Pfeffer on the Response of Ultra-Orthodox Jews to the Coronavirus Pandemic
By Tikvah Podcast at Mosaic, Yehoshua PfefferCommitted to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
Editor's Pick ·
How Ultra-Orthodox Attitudes toward the Israeli State and the Duties of Citizenship Shaped the Response to the Coronavirus
Public-health measures or religious repression?
Observation ·
Podcast: Yehoshua Pfeffer on the Future of Ultra-Orthodox Politics and Culture in Israel
By Tikvah Podcast at Mosaic, Yehoshua PfefferCommitted to developing and supporting the intellectual, religious, and political leaders of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.
Editor's Pick ·
Will Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox Continue to See Themselves as a People Apart?
They benefit from multiculturalism, but don’t necessarily accept its assumptions.
Editor's Pick ·
What Exactly Is the Freedom Celebrated on Passover?
Freedom to enter into the covenant.
Editor's Pick ·
Building a Ḥaredi Conservatism
What the ultra-Orthodox can learn from Burke and Oakeshott.
Editor's Pick ·
Making an Ultra-Orthodox Middle Class
Can Israeli Ḥaredim adopt bourgeois virtues?
Editor's Pick ·
The Past and Future of Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox Community
Change is afoot, but its direction is uncertain.
Editor's Pick ·
Can Ultra-Orthodoxy Be Made Conservative?
“A disposition to preserve and an ability to improve.”
Response ·
Five-and-a-Half Myths about Ultra-Orthodox Jews
By Yehoshua PfefferAharon Ariel Lavi’s essay, “Are the Ultra-Orthodox the Key to Israel’s Future?” is a welcome contribution to what has become a crowded field. Indeed, the ultra-Orthodox ( haredi ) community in Israel...
