Yesterday, we were at Har Herzl for the two-year azkara (memorial) for Shiloh Rauchberger, who fell on the 7th while fighting off dozens of terrorists on his base and saving so many people that day. The memorial brought me back to his funeral, to that terrible first week of the war. Then, as we arrived… Read More Two Years Later
I have cried so many more tears than I have put words to paper in the past two years. Where is my voice? The letters have been replaced by wet, silent tears; the words replaced by sobs. Sometimes, particularly when I am at shul silently crying, I wonder how we are all standing; how we… Read More Finding the Space for Words in the Year Ahead
Last week, Josh and I headed out at 5:30am to Tzomet Golani to participate in the Tekes Kumpta. This is a ceremony that takes place at the end of an army unit’s training, when they receive their beret and are ready for active duty. Two years ago on this exact date, we gathered in the… Read More Unity in Uniform
We are very lucky to have five of the six kids home for chol hamoed, so yesterday they packed up two cars with tents, chairs and food and headed out to a camping adventure. Early in the evening, they posted an innocuous picture of themselves camping. To me, it looked like any campsite and I… Read More A People of the Land
You were with me in those days of nervous energy, hope, fear and change as we packed the house, sold the cars, left the jobs, kissed the family goodbye and boarded the plane to our new life. You were with me. A part of me. You were with me when we arrived, exhausted, frazzled and… Read More As We Send You Off…
We are all a bit broken in Israel. After 16 months of war, we are tired, worried, anxious. Last night, Idan Amedi repaired a tiny bit of that broken spirit, uniting us through his beautiful words and his incredible presence. Amedi has come back to himself, and to all of us, after being gravely wounded… Read More A Superman for our Times
“I’m going to need the car tomorrow.” “It was a bad day for Golani.” This message pops up on WhatsApp early yesterday afternoon and my heart sinks. My son, my beautiful son, who has already seen and heard and smelled and done so much, is hurting again. With the Golani WhatsApp network, he knows almost… Read More The Ironed Uniform & The Tear-Stained Shirt
There is a practice during the ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur to ask forgiveness. While getting ourselves spiritually ready for the new year and facing Hashem’s decrees for the year on Yom Kippur, we are also supposed to set things right with the people in our lives. It’s a beautiful idea, but… Read More Forgive Me, Dear Children
I woke up this morning feeling better than my poor jet-lagged body has felt since I landed Friday. And, realizing that the jetlag and prohibitive heat have made exercise tricky, I decided to veer off my normal schedule and take a morning walk. By chance, one of my friends was available and we walked together… Read More A Prayer for Laughter
Recently, my oldest son finished his army service. I remember the piece that I wrote over seven years ago, the day that we got his Tzav Rishon, his first call to the army. I wrote, at that time, about the Zionist dream and the Zionist obligation; how we made aliyah to be part of the story… Read More From Soldier to Civilian
