TRADITION’s most recent issue features a special section with short reflective essays on the events of October 7th and the ongoing war in Israel. In this episode, two of those authors meet to discuss the topics touched on in those very personal pieces of writing. Chaim Strauchler engages with Alex S. Ozar, who serves as a rabbi with the Orthodox Union’s JLIC and the Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale University. Alex’s essay, “War in Israel, in New Haven” captures the raw emotions, trauma, and fear of last Simhat Torah. He wonders: Is the Golden Age of American Jewry, in fact, over? He shares reflections on the Jewish experience on the Yale campus over the past number of months and what that experience says about the future of American Jewry. Amidst many frightening anecdotes, he communicates optimism about his students and the prospects for future Jewish success.

Chaim Strauchler, associate editor at TRADITION, in his essay, considers how we might make the best opportunities of the current crisis, to grow and improve from amidst its ashes. Locating in Maimonides’ teachings a call to accountability he suggests three arenas for discussion: a counter-narrative to the oppressor/oppressed duality; a renewal of Zionism; and ways to heal as a nation and a people.

You can read both of these essays open-access in our newest issue.