Yosef’s Wife Died, and Then He Did Too
On the other side of my wall, there is a shiva taking place for my 84-year-old neighbor, Yosef, who passed away last week. When we moved into our home 4 years ago, Yosef’s wife of almost 60 years was already very ill, and within a few months she had passed away. She died from a […]
Read MoreIn South India, One of the Most Exclusive Mikvehs in the World
During our Shabbat in India, Rabbanit Elisheva Goldschmidt of Cochin’s 500-year-old Paradesi synagogue mentioned to me that there is a functioning mikveh in Cochin. I was surprised to hear that, considering that other necessities of Jewish life are hard to come by there- i.e., kosher food, a minyan even for Torah readings. So I asked Elisheva, […]
Read More7 More Things I Loved about India
1. At the end of our trip, we visited the vacation town of Munnar. It was so gorgeous it was otherworldly. Looking at the green hills, I imagined that I was in the World to Come and could see souls meandering between the tea plants. I felt so grateful to Hashem for creating such supreme […]
Read More7 Not-so-Pleasant Surprises During My Trip to India
I just got back yesterday from a week-long trip spent in southern India with Hallel, my 19-year-old daughter, who has been in India since Rosh Hashana. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life! In large part because of some not so pleasant surprises which turned into extremely wonderful ones! 1. On […]
Read MoreBabies and Big Kids Too
This morning I was sitting in a friend’s living room while her baby slept in her bedroom. At one point she suddenly stopped talking and looked towards the door. “Oh, that’s the baby crying!” and she went out to get him. The weird thing was that I tried to hear, I really did. But didn’t […]
Read MorePittsburgh Mom, Sari Cohen: The Tree-of-Life Massacre Changed Me
Last night I went out for dinner with my dear, old friend, Sari Cohen, who is visiting with her family from Pittsburgh. Almost 30 years ago Sari and I, then college students at Dartmouth and Bowdoin, spent a few months at Neve Yerushalayim getting our first taste of Orthodox Judaism. We spent a significant percentage […]
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