Malka Simkovich

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Jan 3, 2022, 7:38 AM

Egyptians, Israelites, and the Sin of Self-Idolatry

David Roberts, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Israelites' exodus marks the process by which the covenantal people are trained to construct a new society that in every way stands apart from Egypt. The Egyptian civilization, the Torah suggests, mistakes God’s magnificent creations for the deity...

Jun 27, 2017, 8:46 AM

Modest living: Why treating appearance as a religious category needs to go out of style

Separate how you dress from your Orthodox Jewish identity and reap the benefits of both your attire and your Judaism

Aug 17, 2016, 3:41 AM

Working hard for the money: Breaking the taboo of how we pay female Orthodox educators

Forget about Orthodox women rabbis (and what they should be called) for now; let's talk equal and transparent pay

May 23, 2016, 5:22 PM

What we talk about when we talk about white Jewish privilege

How celebrating her PhD provoked an investigation into her identity as a mother and as a Jew

Sep 25, 2015, 7:29 PM

Why do we need Interreligious Dialogue?

This week Pope Francis began what will be regarded as a historical visit to the United States. His visit will include stops in Washington, D.C., New York, and Philadelphia. While most observant Jews have probably seen headlines about the...

Aug 1, 2014, 2:23 AM

The Moral Imperative to Object

In the year 40 C.E., the Jewish community living in Alexandria, Egypt, was in turmoil. Amid anti-Jewish riots, synagogues were being burned down and Jews were being harassed and killed in the streets. The new emperor Gaius Caligula had...

Apr 7, 2014, 5:16 PM

Are You There, God? It’s Me – Modern Orthodoxy

Last week Jay Lefkowitz wrote an article for Commentary Magazine arguing for the legitimacy of what he calls “Social Orthodoxy,” which is founded not on common principles of religious faith, but on a common social network of Jews who...

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About Me

Dr. Malka Z. Simkovich is the Editor-in-Chief and Director of the Jewish Publication Society, as well as the author of Letters From Home: The Creation of Diaspora in Jewish Antiquity (2024), Discovering Second Judaism: The Scriptures and Stories That Shaped Early Judaism (2018), and The Making of Jewish Universalism: From Exile to Alexandria (2015). Simkovich teaches at Yeshiva University, and served as the Crown-Ryan Chair of Jewish Studies at Catholic Theological Union from 2014–2024.