July 2010   Today is Tisha B’Av, a fast day which falls on the ninth day of the month of Av in the Hebrew calendar. It started last night after our final evening meal, which was relatively quiet and somber, reflecting the mood of the 25 hour period we were about to enter. Our Shabbat […]

July 2009   School is out and my house reflects the fact that there are now more kids at home full time. So does my kitchen. I came home yesterday to find watermelon rinds and empty sacks of flour splayed on the counter tops and both kitchen sinks overflowing with dishes. Literally. But I comfort […]

I’m still on a high from last night. When I got home, it was really late, but I was so charged by what I had experienced, that I needed to unwind. I spent some time talking with my daughter before going upstairs, and read a few pages of my book before turning out the light. […]

Coming of age. Rites of passage. This brings to mind images of a boy in a loincloth, holding a sword in one hand and a sack of grain in the other, going off into the woods to kill his first bear. Or someone breaking out a bottle of bubbling champagne and drinking to a young […]

Prime Minister Netanyahu just completed a very important visit to the US.  He addressed AIPAC, the important pro-Israel lobby organization, and met with President Obama.  Commentators have seen Obama’s speech at AIPAC as very pro-Israel, although some have questioned whether that was a function of pre-election strategy.  But the overriding issue of this visit was […]

The thrust of the chapter is the expectation of holiness in our dealings with our fellow man. For it is through our relationships with our fellow human beings, through acts of compassion and charity, that we can indeed become holy

G-d does not treat gossip lightly. As men and women, created in His image, we are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves and to treat everyone with respect. This includes not maligning them, even in a light, gossipy way.

Fall 2011 Sussya,  located on an isolated hilltop in the Hebron Hills, is a community  characterized by incredible warmth and mutua aid. These people know what’s important: G-d, His land, and  the future generations who will serve Him. While Israel has weathered the economic crisis better than some, many families are still hurting. The need […]

Fall 2010 Noam Weisberg’s parents moved to Israel in 1983, as pioneers of the Neve Aliza neighborhood in Karnei Shomron. Later, Ilana Teplow ’s parents moved there, when she was just a year old. Their grandparents had grown up together in America during the depression, sharing the struggle to survive. Fate reunited these two families […]

These past few weeks have included a number of significant events, seemingly unrelated, and yet all bear watching for their inevitable affect on current affairs in Israel. In early September, Mahmoud Abbas began the process of obtaining UN recognition for a Palestinian State. Just a few days ago, UNESCO voted to accept “Palestine” as a […]