In his 1972 novel, My Name Is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok tells the story of a young Hasid—a follower of a fictional sect clearly modeled on Chabad-Lubavitch—who comes into conflict with his family over his decision to pursue a career as an artist. Sarah Rindner examines some contemporary, real-life hasidic artists. One wonders, she writes,

whether some of the intractable conflicts present in a book like My Name Is Asher Lev have been overstated. Or perhaps whether religious Jewish communities, in part due to the encouragement of certain visionary leaders, have moved toward transcending them.

Take, for instance, Hendel Futerfas, a Chabad Hasid whose great-great uncle may have been the model for Asher Lev:

Growing up in Crown Heights, [a Lubavitch enclave in Brooklyn], Futerfas was rarely discouraged from pursuing art as a vocation, and he is able to support his family through the sales of his artwork within the religious community and beyond. . . . It’s true that sacrifices are made: the audience of a Hasid-artist is necessarily going to be limited. The choice to prioritize family life also necessitates many kinds of compromises. Yet the refusal of such an artist to cross religious red lines, to the extent they exist, does not make him an artistic “sellout.” Rather, it enables him to operate within a specific tradition, adding depth and meaning to its cultural tapestry.

Futerfas works in a wide range of media. . . . In much of his work, Futerfas displays a preoccupation with Hebrew letters, and this interest has expressed itself in his newest sculpture project, which involves carving out large-scale Hebrew letters and then casting them in metals like bronze and stainless steel. While in most cultures letters have meaning only in the context of words, in Judaism, Hebrew letters have inherent meaning and spiritual potential.

For more than a year, the Iran-backed Houthis have been launching drones and missiles at ships traversing the Red Sea, as well as at Israeli territory, in support of Hamas. This development has drastically curtailed shipping through the Suez Canal and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, driving up trade prices. This week, the Trump administration began an extensive bombing campaign against the Houthis in an effort to reopen that crucial waterway. Burcu Ozcelik highlights another benefit of this action:

The administration has a broader geopolitical agenda—one that includes countering China’s economic leverage, particularly Beijing’s reliance on Iranian oil. By targeting the Houthis, the United States is not only safeguarding vital shipping lanes but also exerting pressure on the Iran-China energy nexus, a key component of Beijing’s strategic posture in the region.

China was the primary destination for up to 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports in 2024, underscoring the deepening economic ties between Beijing and Tehran despite U.S. sanctions. By helping fill Iranian coffers, China aids Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in financing proxies like the Houthis. Since October of last year, notable U.S. Treasury announcements have revealed covert links between China and the Houthis.

Striking the Houthis could trigger broader repercussions—not least by disrupting the flow of Iranian oil to China. While difficult to confirm, it is conceivable and has been reported, that the Houthis may have received financial or other forms of compensation from China (such as Chinese-made military components) in exchange for allowing freedom of passage for China-affiliated vessels in the Red Sea.