The interplay of cultures in Israel creates a nuance that is almost impossible to explain to those who aren’t living it. On Sunday, during Pesach, we decided to spend our last free day at the beach. We enjoy going to Ashkelon and headed there for some sun and fun. As we got there, the kids… Read More At the Water’s Edge
Dreams do come true. And it is so lovely to see when it occurs – whether they come true for us or for those we love. There are so many areas in life where we see that things are not always fair – or equal. And this theme has occurred over and over again in… Read More Dreams Do Come True
It’s hard to explain to people who don’t live here what it means to live in a community like this. And I don’t just mean the community of Neve Daniel, the town of 450 families where I live. I mean the larger community of Gush Etzion that has upwards of 50,000 people. A few weeks… Read More We’re All In It Together
Matan picked up running as a hobby last year and he’s run a few 5k races. He came to us a few months ago, explaining that he wanted to run a 10k in the Jerusalem marathon and raise money for Shalva. I don’t know where this kid comes up with these ideas…but we went with… Read More Get On Your Running Shoes
I’ve been trying to gently bug Stella for weeks now about her upcoming birthday. Knowing that she didn’t want to make a big deal of it, and that she might not be up to much with her treatment, I suggested different activities in the Yishuv. I consulted with Yarden. I asked again. I sighed. And… Read More Facebook, Photoshop & Friendship
It was a bit harder this year than in past years to get into the Purim spirit. But we did our best. Yakir, 2, has been home with an infection in his mouth for a week. He’s been screaming pretty much night and day (and since I now have the infection I can attest to… Read More Snow White and a Few Healthy Dwarfs
Matan had a friend over for Shabbat this week. During Friday night dinner, I asked him how many brothers and sisters he has, how old they are, where they go to school and the like. He rattled off a long list of kids, including a two and a half year old brother and a one… Read More Living Among Giants
Maybe a year ago, when Yarden and Stella were being asked all the time what people could do for them, Yarden decided to turn the tables…on us. He very sweetly wrote a blog, explaining that the Frankls really didn’t need much of anything at that point. But boy could those Sussmans and their “dozens” of… Read More An Hour Away From the Storm
It was yesterday that I held you in my arms for the first time, remarking at your hefty weight. Other babies of ours have weighed more at birth, but for some reason I’ll always remember you as the heaviest, as the most solid. Wasn’t it yesterday that I was ordering your first birthday cake? That… Read More Wasn’t It Just Yesterday?
I can’t speak for all schools in Israel, but in our area there is a large Shorashim (family tree) project that the kids complete at the time of their bar or bat mitzvah. Matan has been in the middle of this project now for about four months, and the culminating party will be next Monday.… Read More Shorashim: The Roots to Matan’s Future
