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
100 days. If you asked most Israelis how long we’ve been at war, they might say that it feels like a lifetime. Or they might say that it’s been one day, since we are all stuck forever on October 7, 2023. Or they might say the technical amount of days that it’s actually been –… Read More 100 Days
I’ve vacillated between needing to pay homage to the stories of survivors, the murdered and the kidnapped, and needing to preserve my own sanity and my own soul. There is so much to worry about and so much angst to be had in our little country that it’s literally hard to breath sometimes. Well, more… Read More The Grief of a People
The country has been covering itself in Israeli flags since the horrific events of October 7. Our youth in our community have made it their personal duty to place flags anywhere and everywhere, offering the community a feeling of unity and of strength. I decided to document some of these flags and the process of… Read More Covered in Flags
