A virus was leaked, accidentally, from a Chinese lab, which unleashed a rapidly infectious pathogen originally found in bats. In humans, it set siege on the respiratory system. But, apparently, it took a surprising detour to the human brain and brought about, well, . . . collective insanity. No such similar dual-threat damage accompanied polio, smallpox, or the Spanish Flu.

Colin Powell’s death this past week inspired testimonials of his many years of service as a military officer and American statesman. Jews largely appreciated the former Secretary of State for his support of Israel. He wasn’t averse, however, to criticizing the world’s one Jewish state.

It was a revelatory week for at least two Jewish artists who, improbably, were taken by complete surprise. Artists customarily profess to be apolitical, sealed off by imagination, guided by muses and not doctrines. Life is just an extension of a movie set, a blank canvas, a blinking cursor. Such purity, they say, often leaves them feeling blindsided by the harsher realities of, well, reality.