Chaim Strauchler profiles Thomas Mann’s “The Magic Mountain” which depicts a world where time, agency, and moral responsibility erode, symbolized by illicit gambling. Strauchler suggests that this culture of passivity mirrors today’s rise in youth gambling and reflects a broader loss of faith in cause-and-effect pathways to success. Jewish historical and contemporary parallels, from Haredi lotteries to R. Leon Modena’s Hanukka-season gambling, show how magical thinking emerges when predictable structures falter. Hanukka ultimately calls us back to courageous agency.

Alec Goldstein and Mitchell Rocklin profile Don Quixote, the first modern novel. Cervantes’ hero exemplifies the radical possibility of human self-creation, anticipating themes later explored by Kierkegaard and Rabbi Soloveitchik. Through its blend of satire, moral aspiration, and literary brilliance, the novel affirms the power of great art to elevate the mind, restore honor, and inspire generations to strive toward “the impossible dream.”