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Jun 2, 2026, 10:11 AM

Why Time Feels Faster as We Age

Time feels faster as we age — same years, different density. Image © Ivan Bassov, 2026. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Theories of Time Perception and a Life-Remaining Model In Life Remaining: Rethinking Time and Perspective, I explored a simple question: Instead of asking “How old am I?”, what if we asked “How much life do I actually have left?” Using life expectancy...

May 15, 2026, 4:43 AM

Love as Law, Law as Love (Bamidbar, Covenant & Conversation)

On the face of it the connections between the sedra and haftara of Bamidbar are slender. The first has to do with demography. Bamidbar begins with a census of the people. The haftara begins with Hosea’s vision of a...

Isaac Steven Herschkopf

May 5, 2026, 12:38 AM

An Argument Against Arguing: Spitting in the Wind

"It is a absurd to argue men, as to torture them, into believing." - The Usurpations of Reason, John Henry Newman (1843) For the entire 19th century, and most of the 20th, it was considered rude to express one's opinion about...

Apr 24, 2026, 3:22 AM

Of Love and Hate (Acharei Mot – Kedoshim)

At the centre of the Mosaic books is Sefer Vayikra. At the centre of Vayikra is the “holiness code” (chapter 19) with its momentous call: “You shall be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” And at...

Ella Ben Emanuel

Apr 4, 2026, 11:49 PM

What the War with Iran is Teaching Me

my punch embroidery

As the days of peacetime blur into forgetfulness, I begrudgingly sink into this new normal of alerts, sirens and check-ins. The irony is that with all the arrow missiles and ballistic warheads moving at the speed of sound, I’ve...

Mar 25, 2026, 7:19 PM

Tending the Eternal Flame: Parshat Tzav

THE CONSTANT FIRE: BEYOND RITUAL TO RESPONSIBILITY We expect to see in any synagogue an ark, a place for the Torah reader (the bimah), and a ner tamid, the eternal light. Often, additional symbols—such as the Ten Commandments, the twelve...

Mar 19, 2026, 10:40 PM

The Social Life of Machine Consciousness: Red Peter or the Ant Colony?

When we reflect on AI, we ought to take note of the continued development of its capabilities. This essay continues my fascination with Franz Kafka’s essay, A Report to the Academy, as a springboard for how an LLM might...

Mar 17, 2026, 10:43 AM

Life is finite. Its passage can be seen. That is all. Image © Ivan Bassov, 2026. Licensed under CC0 (public domain dedication).

“People live as they will never die, and die as if they have never lived.” — attributed to the Dalai Lama Rethinking Time and Perspective When asked what surprised him most about humanity, the Dalai Lama described a simple, yet sobering pattern:...

Mar 16, 2026, 6:39 AM

To Believe or Not to Believe

I have never been a staunch believer. Nor am I a confirmed atheist. Instead, I have consistently chosen the path of least resistance, i.e. the firm conviction that it is impossible to know whether God exists or not because both...

Michelle Stravitz

Mar 12, 2026, 4:33 AM

Hiking Israel: The Journey of the Queens of the Trail

I just returned from Eretz Yisrael and Year 9 of an annual women’s hike on Shvil Yisrael. (And yes, that also means I was in Israel during the Iran missile attacks, but thankfully I was able to make it...

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