In Leviticus 11 (read in synagogues just a few weeks ago), the Torah provides a list of animals whose flesh Jews are forbidden to eat. Among them are numerous bird species, which include—according to Phillip Michael Sherman’s identification—three separate varieties of owls. Sherman explores the owl’s symbolic meaning in the ancient Near East, and in the Hebrew Bible in particular:

The association of owls with ruins and desolation is . . . found in Zephaniah’s oracle against Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, where owls are among the animals that will displace humans after the city is destroyed. . . . Similarly, in Isaiah’s oracle against the Edomites, owls head the list of animals that will inhabit Edom after the complete demolition of the habitable and arable land.

Both Zephaniah and Isaiah imagine centers of power destroyed and returned to wilderness, and they populate that desolation with animals that, presumably, will turn away future potential inhabitants. The presence of the owl, and its associates, thus marks the transition of a space from human habitation to desolation.

The psalmist, bemoaning his suffering from a physical illness, plays on the themes of loneliness and isolation as well: “I am like a desert owl of the wilderness, like a little owl of the waste places.”

Yesterday, the Iranian foreign minister flew to Geneva to meet with European diplomats. President Trump, meanwhile, indicated that cease-fire negotiations might soon begin with Iran, which would presumably involve Tehran agreeing to make concessions regarding its nuclear program, while Washington pressures Israel to halt its military activities. According to Israeli media, Iran already began putting out feelers to the U.S. earlier this week. Aviram Bellaishe considers the purpose of these overtures:

The regime’s request to return to negotiations stems from the principle of deception and delay that has guided it for decades. Iran wants to extricate itself from a situation of total destruction of its nuclear facilities. It understands that to save the nuclear program, it must stop at a point that would allow it to return to it in the shortest possible time. So long as the negotiation process leads to halting strikes on its military capabilities and preventing the destruction of the nuclear program, and enables the transfer of enriched uranium to a safe location, it can simultaneously create the two tracks in which it specializes—a false facade of negotiations alongside a hidden nuclear race.