Tarbiz is the only Hebrew academic journal that is devoted to the entire range of Jewish studies. Appearing quarterly, this journal is the principal forum for the expression of the most important developments in Jewish studies in our generation, and its contributors include the leading scholars in the various fields of Jewish studies in Israel and the world, as well as young scholars who are beginning to make their mark. Tarbiz was first published in 1930 at the Institute of Jewish Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, under the editorial pen of Prof. Jacob Nachum Epstein z"l.

This Festschrifft for Prof. Yona Fraenel includes 23 articles on various aspects of the literary study of Rabbinic literature. The studies relate to the poetics of genre and the relationship of literature to history, including cultural dialogues with Christianity and questions of transmission and composition of the various rabbinic genres.

Over the course of three hundred years, from the mid-14th century to the mid-17th century, the sages of Germany and Poland, who dealt with Halakha, ethics and philosophy, discussed questions concerning sin and repentance. This study examines the different approaches to these issues in the sages' writings.

Moses Isserles , Solomon Luria, their students in Poland, and Judah Loew ben Bezalel and his students in Ashkenaz all wrote during the 17th century. This volume describes the spiritual, literary work of Polish and Ashkenazi thinkers during the 16th-17th centuries, whose rich writings reflect an unexpectedly powerful reality at time when Jewish thought seemed to be diminishing. Although the tendency to open up to all past traditions soon faded away, a glimpse into the Jewish-Ashkenazi world of that time reveals its revival and renewal capability, a power that will similarly resurface in future generations.