YUTOPIA

In what has become an annual tradition, every December I review the books I read in the past year and pick out my favorites to share with other avid readers.

This is not a comprehensive list of all the books I read, nor is this a ranking of these books as the “best” of anything. Instead, I prefer to share the books I enjoyed reading the most in the hopes that maybe someone will find and enjoy something they otherwise might not have encountered. Enjoyment does not imply agreement with or an endorsement of their arguments, only that I found their contents stimulating and engaging.

According to Goodreads, I read 63 books in 2021. Here are the ones I enjoyed the most.

In which Bereishit Rabbah 91:10 may provide an insight for how to respond to distressing situations

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We take a look at Bereishit Rabbah 75:3 to consider the benefits of picking our battles.

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In which we use Genesis Rabbah 71:6 (with a little help from The Simpsons) to learn about the nuances of jealousy.

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In which we compare opinions in Bereishit Rabbah 59:8 and Bava Batra 16b regarding what it means to be blessed with “everything”

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Introduction

On September 28, 2021, over the holiday of Shemini Atzeret, my teacher R. Moses Tendler passed away. Due to shock and the timing of the Jewish holidays, it took some time for me to formulate coherent thoughts. I will leave it to others to discuss R. Tendler’s indelible legacy in the Jewish world and instead I would like to share some personal experiences.¹

In Genesis Rabba 38:14 we learn the difference between giving birth and making a person

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