What the Attias Family Tragedy Taught Me…
“How are you doing?” “Not good. Today is such a sad day.” “Why?” “An entire family died today, didn’t you hear?” This was a conversation I overheard yesterday morning, only several hours after the tragic death of 8 members of the Attias family in a car accident sent its terrible shadow over all the Israel […]
Read MoreWaiting for Elijah in Jerusalem (3-Minute Music Video)
My daughter, Hallel, just wrote a school report about this song, so this is the tune that I was humming yesterday, on Jerusalem day. This is one of my all-time favorite Israeli songs, about various residents of Jerusalem who spend their lives yearning for the arrival of Elijah and the rebuilding of the Temple. There […]
Read MoreOn Death and Undying Faith: The First Interview with Avivit Se’ar after the Loss of her Husband and 5 Children
On March 26th, a freak electrical fire burned down the home of 34-year-old high-school teacher Avivit Shear of Rechovot, killing all 6 of her family members: husband Shai (36), Eliav (11), Evyatar (8), Amitai (7), Shira (3), and Itamar (2). Over the past two months, Avivit has refrained from speaking publically about her family tragedy, […]
Read MoreThe Matriarchs Return to Life (5 Stunning Paintings)
This past Friday, I was wandering around Tsfat’s Artist Quarter when I happened upon the gallery of artist Miriam Mehadipur. I was totally blown away by Mehadipur’s vivid and gorgeous paintings of Jewish women of the Bible, which I’ve shared below. Something nice occurred to me after I left Miriam’s gallery. Miriam Mehadipur is herself […]
Read MoreThe Most Awesome Movie EVER MADE about Israel with Tal Ben Shahar
Wow, this newly-released video entitled “Inside Israel” is something very, very special. Best-selling author and professor Tal Ben Shahar, who is famous for having taught the most popular course at Harvard on Positive Psychology, decided a few years back to leave behind his stellar career success in the US in order to move back to […]
Read MoreHow My Parents Met in Dachau by Rabbi Yosef Wallis
Rabbi Yosef Wallis is the director of Arachim. He told Project Witness the following story about his father, Judah Wallis, who was born and raised in Pavenitz, Poland. Thanks so much to Rabbi Stephen Baars for sending me this powerful story. Rabbi Wallis told Project Witness: While he was in Dachau, a Jew who was […]
Read MoreThe Case Against Kids
I’m a huge New Yorker fan (my parents bring me a big stack of back issues every time they visit, so I am always a few months or even years behind) but I don’t think anything I’ve ever read in the New Yorker has ever made me cry, let alone enabled me to enjoy one […]
Read MoreOur Lag Baomer Riot
For years and years, I have yearned to be in Meron for Lag Baomer. But it never worked out for 1001 reasons, until this year, when the post-high school program my husband directs organized a Lag Baomer trip to Meron. In order to add to their experience of the holiday, my husband organized a 5-hour […]
Read MoreHow I Saved a Life in 5 Minutes or Less
10 years ago, my neighbor Rena* lost her only child in a tragic car accident. Soon after the accident, a neighborhood rebbetzin confided that on top of her horrific family tragedy, Rena was married to a husband who frequently beat her. The Rebbetzin did not know what to do to help Rena, and she requested […]
Read MoreRabbi Shteinman to Frum Schools: Stop being Snobs! (5-Minute Important Video)
In this important video below, Ponovezh Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Shteinman Shlit”a is presented with an urgent question that has implications for Jewish schools all over the world… A Beit Shemesh principal wants to reject 2 boys from his school because their mother is “more open” and “a different type” from the rest of the parents […]
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