Essays

YONAH LAVERY-YISRAELI | Like the modern skeptic, Rambam Rambam (more widely known as Maimonides) is wary of trends and is alive to the slipperiness of motivation. In his work Shemoneh Peraqim, he raises the spectres of misunderstanding and superficiality, and argues that there are, in fact, right and wrong reasons to engage in discomfort.

AMIT MAJMUDAR | As a modern Indian, you might also hear about the epics in the news. That movie version you were eager to go see in the theater might have set off a controversy over whether the main characters were portrayed reverently enough; the public may have declared a boycott.

AARON POOCHIGIAN | I like the double meaning because the moon is both the celestial body and Wang’s pal and playmate.

MICHAEL BAZZETT | Translating the poetry of K’iche’ Maya poet Humberto Ak’abal can sometimes feel like trying to grab a beam of sunlight.