Books and Philosophy

Thinkers and books.

Jean-Paul Sartre, referenced in the essay "Sartre and the Israeli Occupation"

Sartre and the Israeli Occupation

On Sartre’s defense of the USSR, Birthright trips, and why Yeshayahu Leibowitz saw the occupation as a threat to Jewish identity itself.

A film negative strip, illustrating Walter Benjamin's essay referenced in "The Disappearance of the Original"

The Disappearance of the Original

Walter Benjamin, Heidegger, and what happens to the idea of the original once images stop having a source at all.

A sunlit clearing in the woods, illustrating the essay "What inspires me? Stories, Heidegger, Nachman"

What inspires me? Stories, Heidegger, Nachman

An attempt to answer one of the questions I am asked most often: so what inspires you?

A man standing out in a crowd of identical figures, illustrating the essay "Uniqueness vs. Authenticity"

Uniqueness vs. authenticity

“Did anyone else ever do this, ever think this, ever feel this, and what does that say about me?” I think we might be better off letting go of that question.

Book cover of "A Traveling Homeland: The Babylonian Talmud as Diaspora" by Daniel Boyarin

Diaspora, a traveling homeland

On one of my favourite topics: the Diaspora as a mental state. Being an immigrant. Distances within ourselves.

Storytellers gathered around a fire, illustrating the essay "Are stories dead? Hebrew Tattoos and a crisis of narration"

Are stories dead? Hebrew Tattoos and a crisis of narration

The way we tell our stories is the way we understand ourselves. But what if stories disappear from our lives?