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Jul 17, 2026, 6:43 PM

The Unchosen Gift: Reflections on Human Existence

It has been nearly eight decades since I first opened my eyes. I remember nothing of that moment, but I imagine the world was blurry, filled with mysterious sounds. In the years that followed, countless experiences shaped my life...

Jul 16, 2026, 12:31 PM

Burdens Worth Bearing

The Torah describes itself as a “song.” This is rather telling about the complex structure of the Torah. A song communicates with its listener through multiple means. The words of the Torah are, in the words of the sages,...

Jul 13, 2026, 6:41 PM

Wearables: The End of Humanity

How We Lose Our Humanity to Technology Wearables

"How am I feeling?" I asked my watch. This morning I was in the middle of a CrossFit class, sweating, heart pounding, and I glanced at my smartwatch to check my heart rate. A heart rate I could already feel,...

Jul 12, 2026, 10:10 PM

AI Made People Equal

God created men, but Sam Colt made them equal. AI Did It Again. Image © Ivan Bassov, 2026. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Sam Colt Made People Equal. AI Did It Again. We have all heard the famous saying: God created men, but Sam Colt made them equal. The saying captures a recurring pattern in human history. Samuel Colt did not eliminate differences between people. He...

Jul 11, 2026, 1:04 PM

The Asynchronous Mind

The Asynchronous Mind: An Overlooked Dimension of Personality. Image © Ivan Bassov, 2026. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

An Overlooked Dimension of Personality We often categorize people by familiar personality dimensions: introverts and extroverts, analytical and emotional, structured and spontaneous. But there is another dimension that receives far less attention: How does a person process the world—in real time, or...

Michael Laitman

Jul 9, 2026, 10:13 PM

What Does the Story of Abraham Teach Us about Ourselves?

Mesopotamia, the cradle of modern civilization, also known as "the land between two rivers," was a vast and fertile region situated between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, in present-day Iraq. Mesopotamia was the birthplace of many inventions that enabled...

Jul 7, 2026, 1:15 PM

A Country Is Not Loved by Pretending It Is Simple

Yesterday there were two flags hanging outside my parents’ house in Israel: the American flag and the Israeli flag. It was the Fourth of July, which is already a strange and beautiful thing to celebrate from here, and somehow...

Jul 7, 2026, 10:21 AM

The Overton Window and the Battle for Palestine

“The greatest victories are won not when armies conquer territory, but when words conquer memory.” — Ivan Bassov (א״ב), Writing from the Alef-Bet (א״ב) of Meaning. Image © Ivan Bassov, 2026. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

“The greatest victories are won not when armies conquer territory, but when words conquer memory.” — Ivan Bassov (א״ב), Writing from the Alef-Bet (א״ב) of Meaning How Language and Narrative Turned the Meaning of "Palestine" and "Palestinian" Upside Down Most people think...

Allen S. Maller

Jul 6, 2026, 3:36 AM

Av 9 Miracle of Jewish Ongoing Survival

Shia Islam and Judaism share a yearly day of mourning and fasting for a very tragic, sad, historical religious event that happened more than 13 centuries ago. For the Shia it was the slaughter and the tragic martyrdom of Prophet...

Jul 2, 2026, 11:47 PM

A Man of Masks and Mountains

One of the saddest moments in the Torah walks hand in hand with one of its most selfless. In this week’s parasha, after counting the Jewish People who will shortly possess the Land of Israel, Moshe is reminded that...

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