Category: Science and Health

Eli Sharabi was abducted from his home in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7th, and taken hostage by Hamas. Sharabi had never recited the Shema. Until he was in Gaza. Even though he was never a religious man, the Shema gave Eli enormous comfort; and he repeated it over and over again, as if it were […]

My Third-grade rabbi told me he wanted to strangle me. Both my fifth- and sixth-grade teachers called me an idiot. “Mark, I know that there is a brain in there somewhere. Please find it and use it.” My mother told me she didn’t know what to do with me. “We know you’re not stupid, so […]

I adore roller coasters – the initial gradual climb leading higher and higher; the rapid descent; the exhilarating feeling as you return to where it all began.  But as Jews have discovered in recent years, when it comes to Israel and antisemitism, living a roller coaster life is something quite different. The climbs are scarier, […]

In the wake of October 7, many American Jews have been forced to confront a bitter reality: The institutions they helped build and sustain—elite universities foremost among them—are now home to voices not just indifferent to Jewish pain, but also hostile to the very existence of the Jewish state. So what are we to make […]

Jews around the world are mourning today. We’re mourning tragedies that go back centuries—the destruction of two massive Temples, pogroms, Crusades, the Inquisition, the Shoah, Oct. 7, among other tragedies. How can we mourn all this in one day? We can’t. We can’t focus on only one target of grief—there are too many. So I […]

Mourning is unfashionable. A popular platitude is that funerals are meant to be a “celebration of life.” This seemingly innocuous phrase is actually a subtle form of peer pressure, demanding the heartbroken mourners remain upbeat so they don’t drag the mood down for the rest. The bereaved are counseled to look for “closure” and find […]

A sign in a Shtiebelech (small synagogue) in Golders Green, London, caught my eye shortly after I returned from a long stay in Los Angeles. It began with the words: “Due to the situation in Israel…” My mind raced, anticipating the rest of the sentence. The year was 2002, the height of the Second Intifada. […]

How will artificial intelligence models affect our understanding of the past and the lessons we derive from history?  This issue is of immense concern as AI is becoming ubiquitous:  86% of college students report using the models (including 24% who use them daily).  Perhaps nowhere is this more important than remembrance of the Holocaust which […]

If you’re starting college soon, congratulations! I hope it’s eye-opening, mind-expanding, brain-sharpening, soul-stretching, character-building and FUN. But beware. Unless you take charge, your campus debut will disappoint. Today’s college orientation programs prove just how modern universities lost their way.  The University of South Florida Official Admissions Blog suggests “a few questions you might bring” – […]