Around the year 200 CE, Rabbi Judah, the head of the Sanhedrin or rabbinic high court, compiled a vast number of rabbinic teachings into a work known as the Mishnah. The Talmud, composed centuries later, is structured as a commentary on this text. As Shaye Cohen explains in conversation with J.J. Kimche, the Mishnah lacks any sort of introduction, is impenetrable to anyone not already familiar with the rudiments of Jewish law, and cannot be understood as history, theology, or even as a legal code. Cohen discusses what can be known about this work, and why it was without precedent in the history of Judaism. (Audio, 68 minutes.)

Listen to “12. The Mishnah | Dr. Shaye J.D. Cohen” on Spreaker.

The Mossad’s heist of a vast Iranian nuclear archive in 2018 provided abundant evidence that Tehran was not adhering to its commitments; it also provided an enormous amount of actionable intelligence. Two years later, Israel responded to international inspectors’ condemnation of the Islamic Republic’s violations by using this intelligence to launch a spectacular campaign of sabotage—a campaign that is the subject of Target Tehran, by Yonah Jeremy Bob and Ilan Evyatar. David Adesnik writes:

The question that remains open at the conclusion of Target Tehran is whether the Mossad’s tactical wizardry adds up to strategic success in the shadow war with Iran. The authors give a very respectful hearing to skeptics—such as the former Mossad director Tamir Pardo—who believe the country should have embraced the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. Bob and Evyatar reject that position, arguing that covert action has proven itself the best way to slow down the nuclear program. They acknowledge, however, that the clerical regime remains fully determined to reach the nuclear threshold. “The Mossad’s secret war, in other words, is not over. Indeed, it may never end,” they write.

Which brings us back to Joe Biden. The clerical regime was headed over a financial cliff when Biden took office, thanks to the reimposition of sanctions after Washington withdrew from the nuclear deal. The billions flowing into Iran on Biden’s watch have made it that much easier for the regime to rebuild whatever Mossad destroys in addition to weathering nationwide protests on behalf of women, life, and freedom. Until Washington and Jerusalem get on the same page—and stay there—Tehran’s nuclear ambitions will remain an affordable luxury for a dictatorship at war with its citizens.