“Halakha, as the human way of life in accordance with the Torah, does not aim at absolute truth, nor does it run after the fata- morgana of universal truth. Neither of them is accessible to human beings. Its aim is “earthly truth” that the human intellect is able to grasp and for whose pursuance in life man must accept personal responsibility.”
― Not in Heaven: The Nature and Function of Halakha
― Not in Heaven: The Nature and Function of Halakha
“There is no mysterious essence we can call a 'place'. Place is change. It is motion killed by the mind, and preserved in the amber of memory.”
― The Peregrine: The Hill of Summer & Diaries: the Complete Works of J. A. Baker
― The Peregrine: The Hill of Summer & Diaries: the Complete Works of J. A. Baker
“When the clocks of midnight squander a generous time, I will go further than Ulysses’ oarsmen to the realm of dreams, inaccessible to human nature. From that underwater region, I rescue fragments that I do not begin to understand.”
― Conversations, Volume 1
― Conversations, Volume 1
“him. I also recall the great poster for Ana Christie with Greta Garbo, based on a Eugene O’Neill play. ‘Garbo Talks’ it said. In that film, a series of inns were shown to stimulate our expectations, then there was mist, then a horse in the mist, then finally a woman arrived from Sweden and walked across the stage. Ferrari. Was it Greta Garbo? Borges. Yes, she arrived at the bar and slowly strolled past a very long table. We all expected her to talk—we were waiting to hear Greta Garbo’s voice, her never-heard-before voice. What we did hear was a hoarse voice that said, ‘Give me a whisky.’ It made us shiver with emotion. That was her first talkie.”
― Conversations, Volume 1
― Conversations, Volume 1
“This is now a different place from what it was two hours ago. There is no mysterious essence we can call a 'place'. Place is change. It is motion killed by the mind, and preserved in the amber of memory.”
― The Peregrine: The Hill of Summer & Diaries: the Complete Works of J. A. Baker
― The Peregrine: The Hill of Summer & Diaries: the Complete Works of J. A. Baker
Existential Book Club
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— last activity May 29, 2026 06:15AM
This a book club for anybody interested in reading existentialist literature and fiction. Every month I'll be putting up a new text either by an exist ...more
The History Book Club
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"Interested in history - then you have found the right group". The History Book Club is the largest history and nonfiction group on Goodread ...more
¡ POETRY !
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— last activity Jul 17, 2026 05:50PM
No pretensions: just poetry. Stop by, recommend books, offer up poems (excerpted), tempt us, taunt us, tell us what to read and where to go (to read ...more
Luke’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Luke’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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