The Israeli ‘Games of Chef’ TV series has a history of picking “interesting” candidates for the competition. The last program (May 22, 2018) presented, among others, two men: Tamir, a person who recently became ultra-Orthodox, and, Leizer, who has left the “Haredi” (ultra-Orthodox) world and became secular. The two were preparing their dishes at the […]

How do you know when modern law is influenced by old archaic religious rules? At least one of the criteria is when it becomes too “recursive” – when it starts heavily dealing with itself. Laws about the law. Ancient legislators were well-aware of the fact that things may change in the future. Anxious to preserve […]

Many of Israel’s officials have condemned Poland’s recent legislation and announcements about denying Poland’s part in the Holocaust, and rightfully so. It’s bad to twist history to suit one’s agenda. It’s even worse when performed by official representatives of a big country. Not only have they condemned the actions, but they have also mentioned the […]

Many of us are familiar with the “Brain in a jar” (also known as “Brain in a vat”) thought experiment. It talks about a hypothetical mad scientist who removes a person’s brain from the body, suspends it in a jar full of life-sustaining liquid, and connects its neurons to a computer which provides electrical impulses […]

Many of my arguments with others about “God” (or gods in general) stumble sooner or later upon the issue of an “incomprehensible entity”. This phase of the argument may have several flavors. Sometimes, the mythological god is described as an entity we cannot see and feel. Other times it is portrayed as something that is […]

Apparently, it’s very hard to leave an ultra-Orthodox Jewish environment not only in Israel, but also in the U.S.A. Netflix has released a wonderful new peace, describing the extreme difficulties of people trying to leave the “Hasidic” New-York community. The latter does its best to make life miserable for those who want to break free, […]

By Ido Sokolovsky (Original article in Hebrew here) Basically, there are two types of religious people in our world. There are those who draw the line between their world of values and the real world, still there are those who don’t. In Israel, the most prominent representative of the first kind was the late Prof. […]

The scientific method has developed significantly during the recent centuries, along with the dramatic development of science and technology, which derived from putting that method to the test. None of our ancient “sages” ever came close to the tip of the current scientific knowledge iceberg, starting from the structure of the universe and its laws, […]

Can you “formally” determine one’s religion and beliefs? You can certainly establish some criteria; perhaps even phrase a nice questionnaire. In modern times, you can also carefully monitor brain activity. Still, you can never really tell what’s on a person’s mind. Furthermore, people have a nasty tendency to change their minds. Many times concerning small […]

I’m not many things. I’m not an artist. All my attempts to draw or sculpture something – were at best amusing in the eyes of knowledgeable persons. I’m not good at cooking – it is not recommended to rely on my culinary creations for a family dinner. I’m also not a great expert in ancient […]