Articles written by Michael Deqel

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About me - Michael Deqel

Poet and photographer Michael Deqel holds degrees in psychology, creative writing, and English literature from the University of Minnesota. He studied Torah and Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) in the US and in Israel; he's also been an anti-racist activist and

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Creative Writing > Poetry Poetry: A day in my life: 19 of 401
Today in Jerusalem, where I live Summer, hot but not lazy as I go to East Jerusalem greet Ahmed and Khaldoun with a quiet sala'am. Coffee at the hotel, discussing the hopes for peace ways to solve the unsolvable conundrum, a new lease on life in the Middle East. Coffee, loads of hot tea, cappuccino, and Arabic brew to... More..
Arts & Humanities > Writing Tips The power of persuasion: How to improve your persuasive writing: 1 of 20
When you write a persuasive essay, keep your purpose in mind: to convince an audience to embrace your idea or point of view. Here are the steps in writing a persuasive essay: 1.) Identify your argument. Your purpose is to persuade your audience to accept an idea or point of view. You will need first to decide what y... More..
Education > College Study Tips How to write a college paper in one night: 1 of 14
Set your pot of coffee on the table, pour your first (or tenth) cup. Get ready to apply a straightforward strategy to write your college paper in one night: TRIAC. TRIAC is a principle for quickly organizing your paper, and it will help you get done even more quickly if you start out with it as you do your research: Topic ... More..
Politics, News & Issues > US Elections (Other) Can US voters trust the processes for counting election votes?: 2 of 25
One symptom of significant issues in the U.S. democratic republic is election fraud. Harper's ran an article within the past year documenting election fraud in the last two presidential elections and arguing why the democrats haven't done anything about it. Another essay here on Helium points out that election fraud is neithe... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Judaism Kabbalah explained: 2 of 18
As Kabbalah seeks to help us to understand, by providing a method for understanding, Creation Itself, it would be nothing but Hubris for someone such as myself to claim that I can explain it to anyone. I hope, therefore, that you will forgive me for trying even to introduce such a complex series of ineffable paradoxes designe... More..
Personal Finance > Investing Basics Understanding the difference between investing and gambling: 1 of 9
In many ways, the difference between investment and gambling is like the fable of the ant and the grasshopper. Investing is putting your money to work like ants, working hard and storing up what you will need for the winter. Gambling is using your money like grasshoppers, enjoying the sunny summer without thought of rain or w... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Judaism The most important mitzvah: 1 of 9
The most important mitzvah is to love our fellow human beings. Mitzvot (the plural of mitzvah) are commandments. While many think immediately of the Ten Commandments, in Jewish tradition these are referred to as the Ten Utterances. There are actually 613 mitzvot (including the Ten Utterances) in Torah (The Five Books of Mo... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Politics in the Middle & Near East Continuing crises in the Middle East: Should the US and allies be involved?: 1 of 7
Some in Israel think that if the rest of the world would stop interfering, and perhaps even ignore, the Middle East crises, that the various sides then would need to find a solution. Without funding and media attention, the argument goes, both sides would not be able to continue in conflict and would have to find a path towar... More..
Religion & Spirituality > Religious Speculations & Criticisms Religion: Truth or fiction: 3 of 20
The topic of the "truth or fiction" of religion presupposes 1.) that there is a "truth" we can know and 2.) that fiction is not "truth." Let's start with the second supposition, as it's the easier to wrestle with. Fiction has two senses, but primarily it is a literary form. The fact that the literary form uses made up charact... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Politics in the Middle & Near East Ending the conflict in the Middle East: 6 of 32
Resolving the conflict in the Middle East requires the patience and skill of an archaelogist piecing together the broken shards of an ancient pot, not to mention historical and cultural understanding at least as deep as that same archaelogist. First, one has to define which of the many conflicts and what part of the Middle Ea... More..