Small Joys, Simple Family by Akiva
I find this exquisite tribute to family by popular Israeli singer, Akiva Turjeman, to be extremely moving. Especially now that lockdown has whittled down life to its simplest elements–family, kids, home–this song helps me reframe lockdown from Ugg! to Ahh! Before Rosh Hashana, this song was ranked the 24th most popular Israeli song of the […]
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Are Jewish Women 2nd Class Citizens? (8-Minute Rabbi YY Jacobson Video)
In this deeply-inspiring clip, Rabbi YY Jacobson reflects on the funeral of his 94-year-old grandmother and the central and leading role Jewish women have played from Torah times until today.
Read MoreWho Was the Child at that Legendary Simchat Torah after the Shoah? (2-Minute Moving Video)
In this extremely powerful video, Anti-Defamation League director Abe Foxman remembers how a Russian Jewish officer was so excited to see him, the first living Jewish child he had seen after 1000s of miles of travel, that he lifted him up on that first Simchat Torah after the Shoah like a sefer Torah. In this […]
Read MoreThe Surprise Party that Wasn’t
Yaakov had told me at least 100 times that he wants us to make him a surprise party for his 8th birthday–which is today. So, feeling like a good mom, yesterday afternoon I gave out roles and made it happen. One brother took Yaakov food shopping for Shabbat to get him out of the house. […]
Read MoreNot Doing Teshuva this Year
Yoni’s kindergarten teacher sent out an exercise video she’d made for our boys to use during lockdown. I told Yoni: “The ganenet sent you exercises to do! How fun!” as I handed him my phone. But instead of doing the exercises himself, a few minutes later I found Yoni lying down flat on the sofa, […]
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