Noshing Across the Nation

Children, Israel, Food, Torah – things I love and talk about often!

Category: Israel

  • Life after Pardes in Jerusalem

    Well, every good thing comes to an end, and I am firmly settled back in the land of the USA, the city of New York, the supposed “center of the world” or so it deems itself. For me, of course, this phrase does not ring true. The only real center of the world is Jerusalem,…

  • This Land is Your Land

    Walking the streets of Jerusalem, and especially hiking the land around it keeps me thinking of Gd pretty much every minute when I am not in class. The beauty of this land is matched by the resilience and wit of its people. I am not going to say a lot – see for yourself. From me…

  • A Reading Day or Gush Katif Forever?!

    Today was a reading day for me. Sometimes, I get to spend a day in bed getting out of it for a glass of water moving about the apartment like a zombie, a pain here, a pain there. No big deal if someone is used to it like I am. Thank G-d, it’s not often…

  • Parshat ha Shavuah Verses Eikev / עקב

    Reading these last parashot of the year, I keep wondering – why did things go wrong after the years of miraculous existence in the desert that should have taught our forefathers all the right things? יב  וְהָיָה עֵקֶב תִּשְׁמְעוּן, אֵת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים הָאֵלֶּה, וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם וַעֲשִׂיתֶם, אֹתָם–וְשָׁמַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְךָ, אֶת-הַבְּרִית וְאֶת-הַחֶסֶד, אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע, לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ. 12 And it shall come…

  • Parshat ha Shavuah Verses – Shelach / שְׁלַח

    Every Parshah “accidentally” throws some very contemporary notes at you. Everyone knows how ancient the city of Hebron is. This Parshah points out the depth of its history by comparing it to a city, apparently, well known in the ancient word and stating that Hebron is seven years older. כב  וַיַּעֲלוּ בַנֶּגֶב, וַיָּבֹא עַד-חֶבְרוֹן, וְשָׁם אֲחִימַן…

  • Today.

    Today. Someone close to me is going to Israel. A good man, a good Jew, a trusted friend, maybe more than that maybe not. Like me, he wants to live there but is not sure when and how this is going to happen. But he is going to Israel now while I am staying here not…

  • Just One Verse

    A friend of mine just made Aliyah. Originally from Donetsk, she had to run to Kiev from the horrors of the war not wanted by anyone. There, she waited for permission to enter Eretz Yisrael. As an artist, a jewellery maker, a make-everything-myself lady, she settled in the best place for creative souls – the city…

  • Verses Before Shabbat

    It is almost Shabbat here, in New York. This means that Shabbat has long descended on Jerusalem, the city of my dreams. Today, Israel is suffering again. No time, or strength to talk about the reasons of these deadly fires. Just these words, written long time ago bringing me back to it, again and again. When…

  • Parshat ha Shavuah Verses – Lech Lecha

    There are two very significant points for me in this week’s Parshah לֶךְ-לְךָ Lech Lecha. First comes from an amazing shiur of Rabbi Sacks, the former Chief Rabbi of Great Britain. He argues that if we look closer at the text of the previous Parshah:  וַיִּקַּח תֶּרַח אֶת-אַבְרָם בְּנוֹ, וְאֶת-לוֹט בֶּן-הָרָן בֶּן-בְּנוֹ, וְאֵת שָׂרַי כַּלָּתוֹ, אֵשֶׁת אַבְרָם בְּנוֹ;…

  • Verses Out Loud

    I do not write poetry. I just don’t dare calling my little writings this way. What I write is just verses that come into my head once in a while, and sometimes need to be vocalized. Sometimes I have a soft smile, most of the times tears in my eyes, and other times gentle and quiet…