It’s not surprising that I find myself sentimental the week of Amichai’s bar mitzvah. Each milestone in our lives is, of course, significant and becomes a time for reflection. I find that Amichai’s life, in particular, creates more reflection for me as it signifies our Aliyah and the ways that we have changed and grown… Read More Our Son Lives in Strength
This article first appeared on the Nefesh B’Nefesh website where I was honored to share these ideas. Every year Lech Lecha gets me thinking. It is, after all, our life story. Anyone who has made Aliyah can relate to Avraham being told by Hashem to leave everything he’s ever known and to go to the Land… Read More Lech Lecha Is….
“Mommy, we’re on our way back from Jerusalem. Can we come home with the team for dinner?” “The team? The whole team? At 11 at night?” This was my conversation with my oldest son three years ago. He had just started high school at a boarding school 45 minutes south of our house. When the… Read More Filling Those Basketball Bellies…and our Hearts
Two weeks ago, when we were in Los Angeles, we went by my childhood home. I always like to drive down Kirkside Road and revisit my childhood when we return to L.A., and as the kids have gotten older they’ve been able to listen to stories of my childhood. This time, as we went by,… Read More I Always Remember
Our recent trip to the States to see family was amazing. It was wonderful to see our families, to expose our children to sights and sounds they don’t usually experience and to enjoy natural beauty. There were moments, however, that weren’t glorious. I am forever explaining to my children that life, ultimately, isn’t about what… Read More When Your Vacation Turns Upside Down…It’s Time to Stand on Your Head
We just had a little party for my first grade son. It wasn’t a birthday party or a welcome home party or any other type of party with which you might be familiar.It was a book party.I’m not sure where I first heard this idea, but I assume that I didn’t just come up with… Read More Why I Had a Book Party for My 1st Grade Son
At sixteen, I came to Israel on a teen tour. I enjoyed the 6 week experience, the tour of the country and the beauty of the Land. And then I went home. But something had stuck, had connected, had pulled me. I returned as a 20 year old college student, and then for a year… Read More A First for our First: Tzav Rishon
Last week, I was telling one of my colleagues about how we all woke up in my house at 4am to watch game 7 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. He chuckled, shook his head and said, “I bet this is at the top of your list of things your 22 year… Read More Things My 22 Year Old Self Could Never Have Imagined
(I published this piece today at The Times of Israel. I’m placing it here for those who wouldn’t see it there.)I want to curl up into a ball at the moment and disappear. I’ve been wanting to do so all day, and have obviously been fighting the burning urge. Because you see, I have as many… Read More Craving the Chaos of Everyday Life
I am the world’s worst baker. And I’d say I’ve come to terms with my terrible baking, but you have to care about the activity at hand and your own failure in order to come to terms with things. And I don’t care. I’ve always been a bad baker, and I know that I’ll always… Read More Parenting Lessons Learned While the Doughnuts Fry
