About the Journal
“For the Study and Advancement of Jewish Culture and Ideals.”
The Menorah Journal explores Jewish thought, life and culture across communities, traditions, places and points of view. It introduces readers to interesting and distinctive aspects of Jewish culture through work that is intellectually serious, accessible and engaging. Its earliest editors described the publication as “absolutely non-partisan” and promised “equal hospitality to opposing views.” That independence remains important because the Journal is meant to deepen knowledge and connection among Jewish readers and help readers of every background better understand and appreciate Jewish life.
Horace M. Kallen · Autumn–Winter 1962
Horace M. Kallen founded the Harvard Menorah Society in 1906. Writing in the Autumn–Winter 1962 issue that closed the Journal's original run, he reflected on The Menorah Journal as an enduring voice of Jewish intellectual and cultural life. He praised its independence and commitment to serious discussion, while recalling “the arduous struggle to keep the Menorah Journal a living voice of Jewish culture and ideals.” He concluded by expressing his hope that a later generation would undertake “the renewal which a living Jewish culture requires.”
The Journal's original purposes
The Menorah Journal began publication in 1915 with two important purposes. One was to help Jews resist the pressures of assimilation by strengthening their cultural knowledge and sense of Jewish pride. The other was to illuminate the beauty and richness of Jewish culture for the wider public, in the belief that greater familiarity could reduce suspicion and prejudice.
In the Journal's first issue, Hebrew Union College President Kaufmann Kohler explained that the name Menorah symbolized this dual mission of spreading light both within the Jewish community and to the surrounding world. Both purposes remain relevant today.
Preserving the record
Our physical archive in Cincinnati contains 99 historical issues in original printings spanning 1917–1962, one of the largest known documented collections of The Menorah Journal. The holdings are documented issue by issue in our public archive index.
The collection is also a working resource for the Journal. Direct access to original issues supports historical research, citation, and editorial direction. It provides knowledge and material that can inform future issues, including the possible inclusion of historic work.
Volume L
The Journal's numbering continues with VOLUME L · NO. 1 — SHAVUOT 2027. New issues will carry forward the Journal's commitment to the study and advancement of Jewish culture and ideals through scholarship, essays, poetry, visual art, and other original work.
Submissions are now being considered for Volume L.
Submission Guidelines
Noah O’Brien
Noah O’Brien is Editor of The Menorah Journal. He is Board President of the Lloyd Library and Museum, a more than 150-year-old research library and museum devoted to preserving and interpreting historic collections. His preservation and cultural stewardship work also includes committee service by appointment with Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati. His experiences in Israel include time at Kibbutz Ha’Ogen, and he writes on Jewish culture for JJEW.com.