Blog
One Soldier’s Unforgettable Shabbat
This Shabbat we hosted a soldier who is very dear to our hearts. He’s spent 170 days in Gaza serving in an elite commando unit. Right before Shabbat I posted a clip of soldiers getting ready for Shabbat in Gaza, with special food set out and singing Shabbat songs. With this in mind, over lunch I asked our guest what Shabbat is like in Gaza. The experience in his unit was very different than the one of the soldiers in the clip: “In Gaza, for my unit, there’s no Shabbat. We’re fighting most of the time. And we lose track...
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Update on my Father
On this day of revealed miracles, another miracle (albeit less publicized;) took place on the other side of the ocean for my family. 2 months after my father was carried out of my childhood home on a stretcher and rushed by ambulance to the emergency room, today I drove my father home, which he entered on his own 2 legs!Thank you to all of you who prayed for my father, thank you to the incredible staff of Autumn Lake Chevy Chase, and thank you Hashem for this unforgettable day of miracles. Ken yirbu!
read moreA Message of Faith and Gratitude from 13-Year-Old Yagel Yaakov, Former Hamas Captive:
[On October 7th then 12-year-old Yagel was kidnapped along with his brother, Or from Kibbutz Ner Yitzhak The brothers were released by Hamas after 53 days of captivity. But their father, Yair HY”D was murdered by Hamas and his body is still being held captive in Gaza. Yagel has developed a huge social media following his return home of tens of thousands. In his posts he talks about regular adolescent stuff as well as inspirjnb words of trust and emuna: “When people ask me what my strongest connection to God is, I say it’s the...
read moreThe Soldiers’ HaTikva
This week, a tank unit about to enter Gaza stopped by at what used to be the communal dining room of Kibbutz Nir Oz. And on this old piano, they sang Israel’s anthem, and reminded themselves what they’re fighting for: “As long as the Jewish spirit is yearning deep in the heart, With eyes turned toward the East, looking toward Zion, Then our hope – the two-thousand-year-old hope – will not be lost: To be a free people in our land, The land of Zion and...
read moreThe Shabbat Queen Returns to Gaza
Did you know that there was a Jewish community in Gaza since ancient times? The famous Shabbat song “Ya Ribon” was even written in Gaza by Rabbi Israel Najara 400 years ago! When I saw this video of soldiers preparing for Shabbat, I thought of the past 19 years during which Jews were forbidden to enter Gaza, and how overjoyed the Shabbat Queen is to be back, dancing as the sun sets over the Mediterranean to the sweet sound of soldiers serenading her with Lecha Dodi. Shabbat...
read moreThe Only Acceptable Reason to Tear Down a Hostage Poster
https://jewishmom.com/wp-content/uploads/WhatsApp-Video-2024-09-12-at-10.18.18-PM.mp4 May every hostage return home safe and sound!
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9 Months After by the Sister of Segev Schwartz HY”D
I want to share that exactly nine months after Segev’s 21st birthday, which we celebrated for the first time without him, a month after he was killed On the Black Sabbath, in the battle of Sufa. Nine months of pain, an abysmal pain After my little brother fell. These were also 9 months in which I created life New, a gift from heaven. At his bris, we brought my son into Abraham’s covenant, and we named him Gil – an acronym for “Hero of Israel forever.” (Gibor Yisrael L’ad) Third generation in...
read morePeeling my Onion
Today, every hour on the hour, I imagined I was an onion.And every hour I pulled off a layer, that I and everyone else thinks defines who I am:At 9 AM I removed my children.At 10 AM my husband.At 11 AM my power of speech.At 12 PMÂ JewishMOM.comAt 1 PM my home.At 3 PM my money.At 4 PM my actions.At 5 PM my bodyAt 6 PM my mind.Every hour, I envisioned what’s underneath all these layers. The pea under the multitude of mattresses and featherdown quilts.A glowing orb, as dim as a 20 watt-light bulb.Every hour I rub that orb between my hands....
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