Writing

Essays, notes, poems, and prayers

Writing

כתיבהكتابة

Most of this started as a Facebook post and got a second life here. Every piece carries its date in two calendars.

EverythingEssaysPoems and prayersNotes
  1. 7 March 2026י״ח באדר תשפ״ו

    Q&A on the War

    Hi! You may be a new friend of mine. While I really like sharing poems and pictures of my baby daughter, and while I also hope to work together to...

    Note
  2. 7 March 2026י״ח באדר תשפ״ו

    Questions About the War

    So I've been doing some digging and I have some Questions: - If, after 5 weeks, the remaining IRGC commanders refuse to surrender and the US is excluded from the...

    Note
  3. 4 March 2026ט״ו באדר תשפ״ו

    Purim in a War

    I am so torn between understanding the role Khameini's regime and the IRGC, directly and via the proxy armies they fund, train, and direct, have played in not just oppressing...

    Note
  4. 2 March 2026י״ג באדר תשפ״ו

    Design and the Modern Synthesis

    So in other news this weekend, I read some convincing critiques of the theory of the development of complex structures and speciation via blind selection of (even path-limited) randomly-generated possibilities....

    Note
  5. 2 March 2026י״ג באדר תשפ״ו

    The Supermonkey

    There is so much hate in the world. Yoda taught us about the roots of hate - and where it leads. I try to hold empathy for those who hate...

    Note
  6. 12 January 2026כ״ג בטבת תשפ״ו

    Billionaires Shouldn’t Exist

    I grew up in an extremely right-wing, hyper-capitalist environment. (Oh, the stories I could tell from my misspent conservative youth.) Now I'm approaching 40 and just spent five minutes on...

    Note
  7. 24 December 2025ד׳ בטבת תשפ״ו

    One Struggle

    It's all one struggle. For Jewish rights. For Palestinian rights. For Black rights. For immigrants' rights. For women's rights. For the rights of every oppressed, disenfranchised, and/or persecuted group of...

    Note
  8. 24 December 2025ד׳ בטבת תשפ״ו

    The Name of Rambam’s Wife

    We know the names of Rambam's father, brother, son, nephew, father-in-law, and brother-in-law (twice over). We have a letter congratulating Rambam on his marriage. We do not know the name...

    Note
  9. 29 November 2025ט׳ בכסלו תשפ״ו

    Binary Thinking Returns

    Maybe it's part of the romanticization of the past, but I really feel like critical theory had made its point about the inherent incoherence of binary thinking, by the end...

    Note
  10. 15 November 2025כ״ד בחשוון תשפ״ו

    I Am Dry, They Are Wet

    The land needs the rain. I'm grateful for it. I'm also grateful to live in a safe, dry home, with a heater. And not in a tent on a rubble-strewn...

    Note
  11. 13 November 2025כ״ב בחשוון תשפ״ו

    Not a Religion

    As a child, my parents taught me that Judaism is not a religion, it's a way of life. Now, as an adult, I understand why the distinction is so important...

    Note
  12. 13 November 2025כ״ב בחשוון תשפ״ו

    Epstein Files and Vance

    Will the release of the Epstein files bring down the current POTUS? And does that mean that Vance will take over as POTUS?

    Note
  13. 12 November 2025כ״א בחשוון תשפ״ו

    AI Is Dumb

    Those of us who use AI daily are not worried about it taking over anything soon. 😂 We're worried about the people who have already taken over using AI. 😬...

    Note
  14. 12 November 2025כ״א בחשוון תשפ״ו

    One River Many Streams

    What ties together all Hasidim across time and space? Look to the root, not the branches There is one river with many streams You can research the thing in the...

    Note
  15. 8 November 2025י״ז בחשוון תשפ״ו

    Both Made-Up Peoples

    I see your "Palestinians/Israelis are a made-up people" and raise you "Palestinians and Israelis are both made-up peoples descended from second commonwealth Israelites"

    Note
  16. 6 November 2025ט״ו בחשוון תשפ״ו

    New Deal for Israel

    Time for a New Deal for this country? - annexation (better sixty years late than never) - citizenship for all (regardless of ethnicity or religion) - education for all (no...

    Note
  17. 6 November 2025ט״ו בחשוון תשפ״ו

    Loyal to the Nazis

    As MAGA slowly embraces its antisemitic roots, will they lose the Jewish Republican vote? (Relatedly, is "Latinos for Trump" still a thing?) "Although the fortunes of many have been wiped...

    Note
  18. 4 November 2025י״ג בחשוון תשפ״ו

    Sedé Teiman and False Equivalence

    Whatever crimes were committed at Sedé Teiman and other bases/prisons need to be investigated and the perpetrators need to be tried and fully punished, not just for immediate justice but...

    Note
  19. 1 November 2025י׳ בחשוון תשפ״ו

    Grok on Mamdani and Antisemitism

    After I called out Grok for relying on "X sentiment" of Mamdani critics and anti-Mamdani propaganda, and asked for a "facts and figures" based approach to answering the question "Based...

    Note
  20. 31 October 2025ט׳ בחשוון תשפ״ו

    Yemen Blues Shabazi

    Finallllllly listening to Shabazi - A Tribute to the Poet On our way to Ma'ale Adummim Beautiful, bold, brassy, funky, traditional all in one sound *Chef's Kiss* Yemen Blues -...

    Note