Happy 75th Birthday, Israel!
This morning when I recited Hallel for Yom HaAtsmaut I read these words, and felt so grateful for what is, for this day. Chag sameach!
Read MoreA Heartbreaking Video from the Day Lucy Dee Died
The day that Rabbi Leo Dee found out that he was going to have to leave the shiva for his 2 beloved daughters in order to bury his wife, neighbors gathered in the pouring rain to serenade him and his remaining 3 children with HaTikva. Today, we mourn Israel’s fallen 24,213 soldiers and victims of […]
Read MoreMy Busy Yom HaZikaron
Last year, on Israel’s Independence Day, we made a barbecue for a delegation of widows and orphans of fallen US servicemen. The IDF had invited them as guests of honor to experience first hand Israel’s Memorial Day and Independence Day, Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut. Over hamburgers, I spoke with the American army widows and […]
Read MoreA Thousand Mothers that Shook the World
In my specific corner of the religious world, there’s a certain summer program that all the 7th grade girls want to attend. The problem is that there isn’t room in this popular program for every 7th grade girl. So when the link went live at 9 AM this morning, stress was running high among the […]
Read MoreA Song and a Memory of Murdered Friends
This Friday night, around the Shabbat table, out of the blue my daughter began singing the traditional Rosh Chodesh song “Tiyhe HaChodesh Hazeh.” This isn’t a song I hear often. But every time I do I’m transported back almost 30 years ago to the first time I heard that song, sung by a rabbinic student […]
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The Unexpected Phone Call
This morning my phone rang. It was a tour operator informing me that he’s very sorry but 4 large tourist groups he’d scheduled to send us were cancelling because of the security situation. Not long after that my phone rang again. It was an accountant from a different company who had issues with an invoice […]
Read MoreHolocaust Survivor and Her IDF-Soldier Granddaughter activate this Year’s Yom HaShoah Siren
The national siren to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day was activated today (Tuesday) by Holocaust survivor Miriam Tapolcarrier and her granddaughter, Sergeant Roee Avital, a soldier in the Home Front Command. Miriam Elizabeth Hanina Tapolcarrier was born in Amsterdam, Holland, in 1945. Miriam is named after the Christian gynecologist who delivered her and provided her family […]
Read MoreYom HaShoah and Israel’s Remarkably High Birth Rate
This past Succot, David Blumenfeld of the Armstrong Williams Show came over to interview me about why Israelis have so many children, far more than any other Western country. It’s a remarkable coincidence that after all these months this interview was finally released today, the eve of Yom HaShoah. Our thriving and exponentially expanding Jewish […]
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