Features
Jolted: Whose Troubled Reality?

By DAVID TOPPER Deeply absorbed in an exceptionally long essay in the New York Review of Books about a very esoteric book on “the trouble with reality” – and I’m speaking here of epistemology and ontology; namely, that nature of “reality” – and more specifically as elucidated by mainly this trio of thinkers (Immanuel Kant, Jorge Luis Borges, & Werner Heisenberg; in order, philosopher, novelist, & physicist), I feel ever drawn deeper into their sometimes paradoxical worlds. A world, for example, envisioned by Borges, in which a man has such perfect memory that he can recall every leaf of every tree that he has seen in his entire life; but, nonetheless, cannot comprehend the word “tree.” Indeed, what do we mean when we say “tree”? What is our thought process compared to this gifted, but unfortunate, man? It’s also the world, going back to one of the earliest Greek thinkers of whom we know, Zeno of Elea. He put forward this paradox: if a man walks toward a wall, he must go halfway there, and once there, he again goes halfway to the wall, and once again halfway, etc. But this can go on forever, cutting the path in half: halfway, halfway, halfway, etc. It therefore would take an infinite time to get to the wall; and hence, the only logical conclusion is that motion itself is an illusion. This is an example of the disjunction between what we see, and how it is when we probe deeper, rationally analyzing its parts. It was intellectual puzzlements like this that Kant said “woke me out of my dogmatic slumber” and formed the basis of what he called a critique of pure reason, where he methodically wrestled with the trouble with reality.
Diving still deeper, now into the sub-atomic world of quantum physics, it gets even more “spooky” as we try to measure, say, the location and momentum of an electron. (Precisely: momentum is mass multiplied by speed.) But here’s the problem. The answer to this question from quantum physics is that as we zero in on the electron’s exact location, the momentum goes to infinity (ah, that concept again). And likewise, as we measure the momentum of the electron, zeroing ever closer to its exact number, its position goes to infinity. In short, we can precisely know its momentum, but then have no idea where this electron resides in the entire universe. This fundamental scientific conundrum was the brainchild of Heisenberg.
As I read further into this “trouble with reality,” I come across this: the author says that one of the most memorable passages in the entire book that she is reviewing is from a 1942 essay by Heisenberg on the use of language in physics.
Heisenberg in 1942? Where? Leipzig or Berlin. Does it matter?
Jolted out of my esoteric reverie, I’m back in Germany in the 1940s.
No. Stop. Read this memorable passage. “The natural laws formulated mathematically in quantum theory no longer deal with the elementary particles themselves but with our knowledge of them. Nor is it any longer possible to ask whether or not these particles exist in space and time objectively. When we speak of the picture of nature in the exact science of our age, we do not mean a picture of nature so much as a picture of our relationship with nature.”
Yet, Germany. World War II. Images flash up: synagogues everywhere disappearing in flames, emaciated prisoners entrapped in death camps, mass shootings of entire villages with bodies dumped into deep ravines.
Wait, 1942. Heisenberg appointed principal scientist in the Nazi nuclear weapons program – the aim being to build a bomb.
But, focus. Back to this “memorable” passage. Heisenberg tells me that “science no longer confronts nature as an objective observer, but sees itself as an actor in this interplay between man and nature. The scientific method of analyzing, explaining, and classifying has become conscious of its limitations, which arise out of the fact that by its intervention, science alters and refashions the object of investigation. In other words, method and object can no longer be separated.”
Yes, yet. What about Heisenberg’s immediate, everyday world? How does he separate himself from this reality? Jewish shops and stores looted. Jews forced to stand in public with signs around their necks say they are “dirty Jews.” Brown-shirted thugs beat up non-Aryan men and woman in public, without retribution. Young girls dragged into dark alleys.
This is no daydream. It can’t be rationalized away. Despite “that infinitely complex association among words and concepts, without which we would lack any sense at all that we have understood anything of the infinite abundance of reality.”
This esoteric world can no longer hold my attention. It’s not the trouble with reality anymore. It’s now Heisenberg’s very, very troubled reality, right in front of him!
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.
Is he like the man who knows every leaf but can’t comprehend the tree?
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.
I only know that I’m unable to concentrate on, and to comprehend his otherwise memorable passage.
The best lack all conviction.
Not now, anyway.
While the worst are full of passionate intensity.
I must contemplate the prophetic words of Yeats.
Yes.
Poetry.
Now.
*****
Sources: Meghan O’Gieblyn, “The Trouble with Reality,” New York Review of Books, March 21, 2024, pp. 10-16. William Butler Yeats, “The Second Coming.” This poem was first published in 1920.
Features
How beginners can profit from crypto

There are some people who have made money through investing in cryptocurrency. However, how can crypto help you make a profit if you are a beginner who doesn’t have a lot of technical expertise? Here is a list of some of the ways you can make money with crypto without having a lot of experience in the subject.
Get in early
One way you can, potentially, earn money from crypto without needing any deep technical knowledge is by finding opportunities to get in on the ground floor. If you study any upcoming crypto launches by, for instance, looking at the list of new crypto presales from Best Wallet, you might find a coin or token which you could make a profit from. Very often, a cryptocurrency’s presale price is lower than what it trades at when it first appears on the open market. So, if you are careful, do your own research, and have luck on your side, you could make a profit from a cryptocurrency presale.
Earn interest
If you want to make a profit in a slow but sure manner, then earning interest on a crypto savings account might just be for you. Much like a traditional, fiat, savings account, your money is lent out to borrowers or, in some cases, put into liquidity pools, and you earn interest, which can be as much as 10 per cent. Most major exchanges will let you do this, and they are often pretty user-friendly, too, so it won’t require a great deal of crypto expertise. If you do put your money into a savings account, make sure you research the platform and start with a small amount, the sort of amount of crypto you could afford to lose. It also helps if you diversify somewhat and use different platforms to avoid the risk of losses.
Earn as you learn
While the debate between centralized and decentralized exchanges isn’t going to go away at any point soon, something that can work in favor of centralized exchanges is how they can give you free crypto in the form of learn-to-earn programs. These involve surveys and quizzes about particular cryptocurrencies, which reward players with some of the subject cryptos once they have completed them. Although the rewards are not exactly massive – usually a few dollars’ worth of the said crypto – they are real. What is, perhaps, even more useful is that the quizzes are educational, so you won’t just gain crypto from doing them, you will also learn more about the whole cryptosphere.
Keep loyal
If you’ve been shopping at any point this century, the chances are that you will be familiar with the concept of loyalty cards. These give you rewards for doing your shopping, or eating and drinking, at a specific chain or store. And what’s true of traditional retail is becoming ever more commonplace with cryptocurrency. Whether it’s with crypto debit cards, which give users rewards in the form of crypto, shopping platforms such as StormX or Lolli offering points, or travel sites like Travala giving customers crypto cashback, there are plenty of ways in which you can get crypto just by getting things you would normally get. And, better yet, they usually just need you to sign up and link your card to your account, so there’s no mining or staking or anything like that. As ever, though, make sure that you read the small print and check that you comply with any tax requirements for any coins or tokens earned via a crypto loyalty program.
Hold steady
Crypto investors who make money know when to get into a market and come out of it. However, one thing that can work in your favor is the simple act of buying and holding crypto. Now, this isn’t foolproof. Firstly, because nothing is foolproof and, secondly, because prices can go down as well as up. That said, there is a theory that, ultimately, this is the best way to make money with crypto, because it can involve a long-term strategy. You will, however, need to make sure that you do your own research, remember that prices can go down as well as up, and never invest more than you can afford to lose. It also helps to be patient, because you might not see a profit you want to take for quite some time. So just buying and holding can help you turn a crypto profit without having to study the technical intricacies of cryptocurrency.
Features
Team Spirit: Jewish College Sports Programs Making Headlines

For many educational institutions, sports are no longer just an optional activity: they have become an important part of the educational process. They build not only physical endurance, but also social skills, values and a sense of belonging to the Jewish community, as is often written on the website jewishsportsreview.com. Let’s take a look at the place of sports in Jewish colleges.
Features of Sports Programmes
Jewish educational institutions have always placed a special emphasis on the harmonious development of the individual. However, in the past, sports activities often took a back seat to academic subjects and religious education. Today, the situation has changed: more and more colleges are realising that sports are not just physical activity, but a tool for character building.
Sports in Jewish colleges serve several key functions:
- Social integration: joint training and competitions bring together students from different departments and courses.
- Strengthening values through fair play, respect for opponents, the ability to lose gracefully and win without arrogance are fully consistent with the ethical principles accepted in Jewish culture.
- Leadership development: team captains and sports event organisers gain experience in team management and decision-making under pressure.
Participation in sports clubs helps maintain a balance between mental and physical development, which is especially important for students who often have a heavy academic workload.
Sports Programme and Discipline Opportunities
Sports programmes at Jewish colleges are diverse and tailored to the interests of students, as well as the infrastructure of the educational institutions. In addition to traditional sports such as basketball, football and volleyball, the schedule may include baseball, tennis, table tennis and even sports related to historical or cultural traditions.
Interestingly, some colleges take Jewish holidays and Shabbat into account when drawing up their sports calendars so that training sessions and competitions do not clash with religious obligations. Students can combine sporting achievements with preserving their cultural identity.
Participation in intercollegiate tournaments is becoming an important element of sports programmes. This is not only a test of skill, but also an opportunity to represent one’s college at the regional or national level, creating a positive image for the educational institution. In such tournaments, the emphasis is often not only on winning, but also on the ability to behave in the spirit of fair play, which creates a special atmosphere of friendship and mutual respect between teams.
Impact on Student Life and Career
Sport in Jewish colleges plays a significant role in shaping the student experience. It helps students develop skills that are in demand not only in sport but also in any area of life: the ability to work in a team, make quick decisions and take responsibility for results.
Many graduates who participated in sports programmes note that this experience proved useful in building their careers. For example:
- Team leaders subsequently demonstrate high managerial competence at work.
- Players who are used to constant training and discipline adapt more easily to stress and deadlines.
- Participants in intercollegiate games gain public speaking and networking skills that help in business negotiations.
In addition to career advantages, sport improves health and reduces stress levels, which is especially important for students who are balancing their studies with community projects and religious obligations. The atmosphere of support and mutual assistance created by sports teams helps many students adapt to college life more easily, especially if they have come from another city or country.
Joining a sports team or regular training can become an important part of student life. Those considering this option should take several factors into account:
- Assess your goals: do you want to play sports professionally or just to stay in shape and socialise? This will help you choose the right level of commitment.
- Check your schedule to make sure that training does not conflict with your studies or religious obligations.
- Take advantage of college resources: many institutions offer free gyms, coaching, and access to sports clubs.
It is equally important to remember that sport is not just about winning. It teaches patience, respect for others and a willingness to work hard. At Jewish colleges, sports programmes are designed to combine these values with cultural and spiritual elements, making them unique.
Sports programmes at Jewish colleges become a space where traditional values are organically intertwined with modern approaches to education and leisure. For many students, participating in college sports is just as important as academic success. After all, team spirit, the ability to work together and support each other are qualities that stay with a person for life.
Features
The Jewish Federation isn’t evolving on Israel. So it’s losing young Jews like me

By Lahav ZakenAugust 8, 2025
This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward’s free email newsletters delivered to your inbox.
I’m a Jewish Israeli American teenager and North Carolina resident, and I was delighted to see that the North Carolina Democratic party recently approved new platform resolutions that called for an arms embargo against Israel, a ceasefire, and the release of the hostages. Very few people and organizations have managed to articulate my views of both Oct. 7 and the subsequent genocide as well as my state party’s resolutions did. Unfortunately, it seems that my perspective is not very welcome at my local Jewish Federation.
I was particularly gratified by how balanced the resolutions were. They directly condemned the deliberate killing of innocent civilians by both parties and called for the end of the war. The resolutions also condemned antisemitism and Islamophobia, condemned Hamas and the Oct. 7 terrorist attack and decried both Hamas and Israel’s human rights violations. They advocated for basic human rights, dignity and peace for all Israelis and Palestinians.
Yet somehow, this language advocating for peace was objectionable to the Jewish Federation. The CEOs of the Jewish Federations of Raleigh, Durham, Charlotte and Greensboro released a statement attacking the resolutions. Their biggest objection was to the resolutions’ use of the terms “apartheid” and “ethnic cleansing,” which they specifically singled out as “radical and inflammatory.” They argued that the resolutions ignored Oct. 7 and undermined Israel’s right to self-defense. They even went so far as to accuse the Democratic Party of devaluing the “safety, identity, and lived experiences” of Jewish Americans.
I strongly disagree with the Jewish Federations and believe the statement they released was deeply harmful and inaccurate. While the federations may still be a hub of Jewish institutional power and influence, their perspectives on Israel and Gaza and continuing unconditional support of Israel’s actions do not represent many American Jews.
This statement is not an isolated incident, but an example of the ongoing silencing of the perspectives of an increasing number of American Jews by Jewish Federations across the country and Jewish institutions and youth groups more broadly.
I am just about as Jewish as you can get. I was born in Israel and lived in Jerusalem until I was 4, when my family moved to Greensboro, North Carolina. I did not visit Israel for most of my childhood, but I still felt an extremely strong connection to my home country. Growing up, I ate Israeli food, listened to Israeli music and watched Israeli shows. I attended Jewish day school, I volunteer with my local synagogue and know most Jewish services by heart. In 2023, I traveled back to Israel on a school trip led by the Jewish National Fund. I genuinely loved getting to see my home city and country for the first time that I could vividly remember.
However, my connection to my country of birth has almost completely eroded following almost two years of non-stop war and aggression in Gaza. I am enraged and heartbroken that Jewish Institutions will not recognize or acknowledge that pain.
Like most Jews and Israelis, my gut reaction after Oct. 7 was to stand strong with Israel. I was horrified by the atrocities Hamas committed that day. I wanted to wave the flag of my birth country more strongly, to support Israel’s right to defend its civilians and demand the hostages be freed.
However, after months of seeing satellite images of the complete devastation of Gaza and reading testimonials from doctors and journalists describing the humanitarian crisis, my perspective has shifted. I couldn’t help changing my mind when I saw hostage families being beaten by police in the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for calling for a ceasefire, or when I read statements from Israeli leaders making it clear that their goals were to destroy the entire population of Gaza. I do not hold Israel to a different standard than any other country, no matter my love and connection to it. It is precisely my Jewish values that have pushed me to speak out so strongly against Israel’s unjustifiable actions in Gaza.
I believe two wrongs do not make a right. What Hamas did was immoral. And the genocidal war of aggression that Israel has waged on the people of Gaza is also immoral. I am horrified and ashamed to see tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians killed, including the deliberate targeting of aid seekers at distribution sites. If I, as an Israeli-born teenager, can acknowledge the atrocities committed by Israel and that multiple things can be true at the same time, why can’t Jewish institutions?
For those reasons, along with the sheer brutality and immorality of the war, more and more American Jews oppose Israel’s government and their war on the people of Gaza. Unfortunately, those who dare to express opposition are being isolated and alienated from their Federations, synagogues and youth groups. All of these institutions explicitly and implicitly manufacture total support for the Israeli government and its actions.
The North Carolina Federations’ statement not only blatantly misrepresents the state Democratic party’s resolutions by falsely implying that they are apologists for Hamas, but also misleadingly implies they speak for all or most Jewish North Carolinians. A November 2024 J Street poll of Jewish Americans found 61% support an arms embargo against Israel. As of June 2024, according to a poll conducted by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 30% of Jewish Americans believe that Israel is committing genocide, a number that has undoubtedly risen since then.
The Federation leaders are completely right to be concerned about the extreme rise in antisemitism since Oct. 7. I have had multiple personal run-ins with antisemitism since Oct. 7. Someone close to me experienced identity-based discrimination in a local progressive organization we are both a part of because they are Israeli-American and worked as a journalist in Israel. I have repeatedly been subjected to antisemitic comments online, and was once told that I should join the Israel Defense Force after I condemned the killing of innocent civilians on Oct. 7, implying that being Israeli and opposing the killing of innocent Israeli civilians meant that I somehow enjoyed killing Palestinian civilians.
Many Jews in America have had similar experiences, and I have no doubt that Jewish Federation and Jewish institutional leaders care deeply about fighting antisemitism and keeping their Jewish communities safe. However, statements like the North Carolina Federation heads made do not keep us safe.
When a local Jewish Federation, synagogue or youth movement chapter releases statements claiming that they stand fully with Israel in the conflict, they are isolating and ignoring those of us who offer critiques of Israel’s actions and policies. If these actions continue, millions of American Jews across the country will be pushed out of Jewish institutions, excluded from Jewish spaces and have their Jewishness questioned over their stance against Israel’s actions in Gaza. This is, unfortunately, already happening.
The reality is that in 2025, most American Jews do not stand unconditionally with Israel anymore. If Jewish federations and other institutions want to be the inclusive spaces for all Jews that they claim to be, then they must adapt to this reality.
If groups such as the Jewish Federations cannot reflect American Jewish opinion in 2025 or acknowledge the isolation from Israel that more and more American Jews feel, then millions of Jewish Americans with perspectives such as mine will be erased from the institutions designed to make us feel most at home.
Lahav Zaken is a junior at New Garden Friends School and a local progressive organizer in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward. Discover more perspectives in Opinion. To contact Opinion authors, email opinion@forward.com.
This story was originally published on the Forward.