2021 has been a tumultuous year. Covid-19 is still raging with recurring waves, the summer saw unprecedented fires in numerous places around the world alongside equally unprecedented floods, and earthquakes and volcanic eruptions seem to have been more frequent this…
Persian astronomer and poet Omar Khayyam was an artist at expressing indecision. In one his rubaiyats (four-line poems) he wrote: One hand with Quran, one with wine-cup dight, I half incline to wrong, and half to right; The azure-marbled sky…
This Saturday, NASA is planning to launch its much-awaited next-generation space telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope. The telescope, which has been in the making for decades, is the most complex space science observatory ever built. According to NASA, “Webb…
Recently, we learned that the US government and the Palestinian Authority have resumed their economic talks after a five-year hiatus. According to the State Department, the talks will revolve around infrastructure development, access to US markets, US regulations, free trade,…
The anger of many American Jews over Donald Trump’s remarks about American Jewry comes as no surprise to anyone. In a recent interview with an Israeli journalist, Trump quoted his father’s words that Jews used to have “a great love…
All over the western world, prices are on the rise. In the US, consumer prices have gone up by more than 6 percent, the most since the 1990s. In Germany, prices have gone up 4.5 percent, and in the United…
A few days ago was the tenth of the Hebrew month of Tevet. On that day in 587 B.C. began the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylon, which culminated in the destruction of the First Temple and…
It’s been a month since Omicron, the new Covid variant, first appeared. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the strain is spreading “at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant.” WHO also warns that although “Seventy-seven countries…
According to Reuters, “Australian scientists and artists are looking to hold the world accountable for the Earth’s future by creating an ‘indestructible’ storage device to record humanity’s handling of the climate change crisis.” The device, which they dubbed “Earth’s Black…
Searches for the answer to the question “Why do I feel sad?” broke all records with a 10% jump from the previous year in the rankings of the most popular Google searches for 2021. Searches on topics such as: anxiety,…
Perhaps one of the most conspicuous phenomena in recent years is the deterioration of the public’s trust in the authorities. Whether it is demonstrations against Covid restrictions, protests against economic reforms, or riots against policies on any topic from education…
I was told that before he died, Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs wrote a letter where he reflected on life. According to the letter, he wrote, “Treasure love for your family, love for your spouse, love for your friends.…