3 Big-Hearted Israelis by the Lebanese Border
My daughter spent Shabbat in a gorgeous community 50 kilometers from Lebanon. She was surprised to see that life continues there pretty much as usual. There is on average only one siren a week. And the residents have mostly stayed put. But there have been certain difficulties, including the fact that the kids can’t attend […]
Read MoreA Hard Few Days
This past Friday, the nephew of my dear next-door neighbor, Hillel Eliyahu Ovadia, was killed in the war.And so was the grandson of my daughter’s guidance counselor.And another neighbor’s husband (Guy ben Chana) seriously injured in Lebanon, is fighting for his life.I am exhausted. Partially because I was at the funeral of my neighbor’s 22-year-old […]
Read MoreMeeting Iris Chaim, Mother of the Hostage Mistakenly Killed by IDF
Meeting Iris Chaim, Mother of the Hostage Mistakenly Killed by IDF The highlight of my Succot, and my thoughts on this complicated Simchat Torah.
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I Lift My Eyes to the Hills by Ora Baranes Lilintal
This psalm has been sung to so many melodies, and this one, which I first heard 18 years ago, is my absolute favorite. This year I’ve been playing it often. It’s ancient words feel so current since October 7th: A song for ascents. I lift my eyes to the hills, from where will my help […]
Read MoreKreesmas Lights in Our Succah
Every Succot, we decorate our succah with these little colorful lights that growing up we–Josh as the son of a Catholic mother, and I as a student at a Christian prep-school–knew as Christmas lights.When Josh and I came to Israel over 30 years ago, we found it very entertaining that the Israelis selling these lights […]
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