The results of the Israeli election had an interesting side effect: dissatisfied Israelis, presumably from the left side of the political map, have begun to explore the possibility of “quitting” Israel. They have set up Facebook groups with titles like…
The overview effect is a cognitive shift reported by some astronauts while viewing the Earth from space. Researchers have described the effect as “a state of awe with self-transcendent qualities, precipitated by a particularly striking visual stimulus.” The most prominent…
The results of the general election in Israel are very difficult to swallow for many American Jews. Not only did they prefer Yair Lapid to Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister, they loathe Netanyahu’s likely coalition partners. The New York Times…
Recent studies have shown that there is a “democratic recession,” as one paper called it. Another study moaned, “To the surprise of many in the West, the fall of the USSR in 1991 did not lead to the adoption of…
A student told me he had read that the famous futurist Ray Kurzweil is about to publish a new book titled The Singularity Is Nearer. Apparently, it is a development, or elaboration on ideas Kurzweil had presented in his…
Since the beginning of the year, there has been a growing trend among climate activists to corrupt art history’s greatest treasures in an effort to raise awareness of climate change. So far, twelve incidents have occurred this year, six of which took…
A week before the general election that was held this Tuesday, the newspapers Israel Hayom and Haaretz published two separate surveys, both concluding that contrary to the common perception of Israelis as preoccupied with problems of defense and terror, they…
Perfect timing: on the day of the Israeli parliamentary elections, we began studying Baal HaSulam’s article, “Peace in the World.” Among other things, the article speaks about the interdependence of all people and how the positive or negative actions…
Last week was the 77th United Nations Day, marking the anniversary of the entry into force of the UN Charter in 1945. The day’s official web page states, “There is no other global organization with the legitimacy [and] impact of the United…
Of all our fears, probably the one that is the most intense is the fear of losing face, of being shamed. To most of us, our self-respect means more than anything else. If we lose it, we often prefer to…
A couple of weeks ago, a journalist from the French women’s paper magazine Fémitude wrote me asking if I would be willing to answer a question for an article she was writing about the wisdom of Kabbalah. Her question was,…
A few weeks ago, the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented an extremely rare 2000-year-old coin that was stolen and smuggled out of Israel, and returned following an intelligence operation by the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in New York.…