Daniel Almazan

  Philosopher and mathematician René Descartes is regarded as the father of modern philosophy for defining a starting point for existence, “I think; therefore I am.” René Descartes was born on March 31, 1596, in La Haye en Touraine, France. He was extensively educated, first at a Jesuit college at age 8, then earning a law degree at 22, but an influential teacher set him on a course to apply mathematics and logic to understanding the natural world. This approach incorporated the contemplation of the nature of existence and of knowledge itself, hence his most famous observation, “I think; therefore I am.” Early Life Philosopher René Descartes was born on March 31, 1596, in La Haye en Touraine, a small town in central France, which has since been renamed after him to honor its most famous son. He was the youngest of three children, and his mother, Jeanne Brochard, died within his first year of life. His father, Joachim, a council member in the provincial parliament, sent...

Don’t judge a book by its cover By: Daniel luis E. Almazan “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” You’ve heard that expression so many times. The gross-looking brown apple just may be a delicious one, or beyond that old and peeling storefront there may be gorgeous clothes. We can never know what lies beyond the exterior until we check it out. In this week’s  Torah  portion, it discusses the ramifications of speaking lashonhara (evil talk). If one spoke badly about another, his very home would be covered in horrible spots. If the  kohen  declared the home to be impure, the house would be destroyed. All this fuss about the spots and destruction would bring the man to completely repent—and then, sometimes, something super-cool would happen after that. Once the house was destroyed, the man would find treasures that were buried under his very own home. Not only was he richly rewarded for his  teshevuya (repentance) with this big treasure; he also le...