a cogent exploration of relationships between israel, zionism, and judaism as framed through the cultural lens of Emmanuel Levinas

A remarkable tale in the Babylonian Talmud (b. Qidd. 81a–b) recounts how Pelimo, who regularly exclaimed “an arrow in Satan’s eye!,” ironically attracts Satan’s personal attention. Disguised as a pauper, Satan wreaks havoc until he ultimately offers an alternative apotropaic formula—a biblical verse (Zech 3:2)—for Pelimo to use against him. While often read as a moral allegory, this article argues that the story is rooted in late antique Babylonian notions about demons and apotropaic practices, as evidenced in incantation bowls, amulets, and related objects. The narrative not only presumes this cultural context but actively engages it—contrasting two protective formulae and casting Satan as an advocate for one. In doing so, it reveals how rabbis participated in broader debates over the legitimacy and efficacy of different magical practices, using narrative as a tool of persuasion. Comparison with other Talmudic passages further highlights evolving rabbinic views on ritual power and the shifting role of biblic

Consider a pair of hypotheses: first, that one major strand of Jewish mysticism supports both the study and the practice of computer science, which I take to include both the formal mathematical and scientific study of the informational and the engineering of informational systems. Second, that our current technical understanding of computation helps clarify a key aspect of the Jewish mystical tradition. Begin with a digression on the role of computer science in showing scientifically that the world itself is more than just material, turn to an examination of one aspect of the Kabbalah, and then look at the practice of computer science as a modern realization of this aspect of the Kabbalah.

The Jewish Zine Archive began in 2019 and is a physical

While not recognized in the United States (due to former President Eisenhower and the wave of anti-communist attitudes during the Cold War), International Workers Day commemorates a series of events in the U.S. that would forever change U.S. politics and labor, and led to the blossoming of the Jewish anarchist movement, a wing of which was deeply grounded in faith.

As a Jewish creator whose work is directly inspired by Jewish magic & mysticism, I’m asked all the time how I learned about these traditions - particularly by other Jews who grew up, as I did, without any awareness of this side of Judaism. As a queer, trans & disabled Jew, I’ve found that I connect most deeply with spiritual practices that have (both historically and currently) often been marginalized even within Jewish cultures.

After the Russian Revolution, Jews left behind the shtetl and had to navigate a modern identity: New Soviet Man.

Does God exist? Do societies thrive under a religious influence? Ben Shapiro and noted atheist Michael Shermer debate Christianity’s role in cultural advance…