When I woke up this morning and checked my WhatsApp messages, I was excited to see that I had something from Yehuda. He doesn’t write that often when he’s away from home (Yehuda, Yehuda, Yehuda…although to his credit, he is very much ‘in’ wherever he is with no cell phones, no social media, etc). He’s… Read More Mountains To Conquer, And Those Already Scaled
My boys’ high school loves t-shirts. To be more accurate, the kids love collecting t-shirts, sweatshirts, and other clothing items with the name of their school, Sussya. But the items aren’t just sold in a school store for the taking; rather they are earned. The school is built around a four-year program of classroom and… Read More How I Became a Sussmaneet
I’m turning 49 this week. It’s certainly been a strange few months for the world and it’s hard to feel festive and joyous with so many people suffering both physically and economically. It’s hard, as well, to think of celebrating when we are just starting to peek out from our homes and slowly emerge from… Read More The Many Meanings of 49
“But we weren’t even very good,” my 13-year-old declared, rather sheepishly, today when I told him that we were going out for a celebration. It’s been two months, two months to the day I think, since my three younger children (and my husband) have been out of the yishuv. That’s a looooooong time to expect… Read More Yes, We Were Very Good
I have a really hard time concentrating when there are major stressors in my life. And COVID-19 is right up there. Go figure. So, I’ve found myself chucking book after book aside. I don’t think they are bad books, but rather that I’m currently a bad reader. What I have been enjoying, however, is light,… Read More Reading in the Time of COVID-19
Yesterday, I wrote a blog post about my reaction to my 18 year old son and the way he has selected to spend Yom Hazikaron. Today, in the late afternoon, he decided to share his own thoughts on the subject. I thought they were so beautiful, so full of the hope and the pain of… Read More Honoring the Fallen: In My Son’s Words
This post first appeared on the Times of Israel website. We’re all home, doing the best we can and hoping for better days ahead. While we look to the future, we need to continually remember our past, and pay respect to those who created our history. With Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) starting tonight and… Read More Remembering, From Our Homes
Obviously, all of our lives have been turned upside down. So it’s funny to think of pointing out some of the ways that things are different. But this morning, when I saw the pile of slippers, it really hit me how much little symbols and items can signal large changes. And I started thinking about… Read More Slipping Our Way Into a New Reality
It was only two short weeks ago (three? four?) that life still seemed relatively normal. On a daily basis, I could hear myself saying: “You’re hiking where? For how many days?” “Are you coming home this weekend? “Please be careful on your way back from Eilat. No, really.” “Yes, you can have the car. Where… Read More One Mom’s Life Staying Put
I’ve never read anything from Emuna Alon until this week. I’ve actually read very little by Israeli writers. But I was lucky enough to have a neighbor with a copy of Emuna Alon’s latest book House on Endless Waters. Knowing I’m a big reader, he asked if I wanted to borrow it, and reassured me… Read More Pouring the Colors Generously
