In 2002 while the intifada was raging, Josh felt the pull to come to Israel on a one-man mission. He spent time with a number of our friends, helped in his small way with the tourism economy, and showed people that he cared. He also attended the wedding of the brother of our close friend.… Read More The Simcha of a People
We’ve reached the half-year mark since the last time I wrote about my favorite books…so here we go. There are some unusual picks for me here and I hope you enjoy them. Let me know if you’ve read them already, if you read them now, or if you have other books to suggest to the… Read More My Mid-Year Must-Reads
For months, I’ve been thinking about writing a piece about the traditional blessing of gratitude that we say in Judaism after surviving a life-threatening situation. And then, during our daf yomi siyum recently, marking the completion of Masechet Menachot, someone spoke about her recent near-death experience and how they thanked Hashem afterwards for saving her… Read More Birkat HaGomel in Times of War
Last week, we went to Har Herzl, Israel’s national military cemetery, to pay our respect to those who have fallen so that we may live here. Each year, there is an official ceremony there on the morning of Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day), and the location is overrun with thousands upon thousands of people. We discovered… Read More Those Left Behind
It’s very unusual for me to be without words, but I have found myself in this state for a number of months. I’ve been battling with debilitating physical vertigo at the same time that our beautiful, tiny country has been battling with the existential vertigo of war. I’ve turned to myself over and over again… Read More Still Standing: Finding My Voice Among the Flags
Prior to making Aliyah, one of the concerns I had was that I would always feel like “the other.” It was a fair concern. And one that has proven true. I am, and will always be, the immigrant to my native children. I will never catch up with their Hebrew skills, their cultural references, their… Read More Finding Light in the Ordinary
Guest blog by Josh Sussman Last month one of our kids made the pilgrimage to Holocaust sites in Poland, a trip that hundreds of thousands of Israelis have made over the past few decades. This trip allows high school students to learn more about the tragedy that befell the Jewish people only 80-85 years ago.… Read More Journeying South Through Our Soldier’s Eyes
Yet again, it was certainly not an easy year for concentrating. Fortunately, good books have continued to be a great escape for me. Without further ado, here are my favorites from 2025. The Names by Florence Knapp: One of the best books with the “sliding doors” theme that I have read. The choices that Cora… Read More 10 Terrific Reads from 2025
There are certain things that trigger me, that bring me back to those dark, fearful days at the beginning of the war. Two years ago, I bought Chanukiot for my soldiers from a fellow warrior. I remember looking at these gorgeous resin-created Chanukiot during all eight days of the holiday in 2023 and seeing their… Read More Gratitude in the Shadows of Memory
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
