We do not know what, if anything, God and Aharon say as they stare at each other through the cloud of incense. But in that moment, we can imagine a silent agreement. Forgiveness is too flimsy a word for it: maybe because all has already been forgiven. Maybe because some things are too much to…
Category: Jewish Stories
Esther, Queen of Theater
This piece have been published by my yeshiva, I am sharing it for your consideration, comments, and questions. Purim Sameach! “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and theirentrances,” As You Like It, William Shakespeare. It is common for both individuals and communities to pray…
Zionism and Mahloket. How will we manage this Rosh haShana?
Out of all biblical holidays Rosh ha-Shana may be the strangest one. It does not belong to the category of shalosh regalim, three pilgrimage holidays, when we are specifically commanded by Gd to commemorate the agricultural and spiritual milestones of the year by going to Jerusalem Temple: שָׁלֹ֣שׁ רְגָלִ֔ים תָּחֹ֥ג לִ֖י בַּשָּׁנָֽה׃ Three times a…
Can we really disagree constructively?
I have initially published this blog post on Times of Israel. It was a part of my requirement, but I am grateful I was pushed to write. Hopefully, I will keep going at this: We live in a time when it is extremely hard to listen to the opinions of others. The world around us…
Russian-speaking Jews and Judea
I have published these thoughts of mine here, but also posting them below since you are my primary blog audience: My friend, a Russian-speaking doctor living in Hebron says: the situation is bad, but we decided that even if only 10 dying families remain in Hebron, ours will be among them. There have been a…
Back to the “Safety of the Land of the Free”
After I’ve returned from Israel a few days ago, I am still not sure if I can coherently express my feelings. Things that we’ve seen cannot be unseen, words that we heard cannot be unheard. The images of the tiny burned houses of the youth village of Kfar Aza are forever etched into my mind….
On the Road to my Favorite Place in Pain
Tomorrow, I am going to Israel. I have been there in times of joy. I have been there in times of pain when even the taxi drivers thanked visitors not deterred by the suicide bombings. This time it is different. The pain is never easy, but this time, the pain is unbearable. Every account, every…
Another (not so new anymore) Adventure or Вот новый поворот.
Summer is coming to an end even though to me it feels like it somehow evaporated without actually being here. It was a strange summer, indeed, weatherlike. Cold and rainy for the most part, then turning to extreme heat for a little while, and now the days start kind of cold already, lots of rain,…
What’s in the Age? Never Late to Learn!
It looks like these tragic days everyone is thinking about time and age. Time that we live, hopefully in peace, and age that our children learn about war. Time that flies away, and age that deepensthe scars. To me, the concept of one’s age is a changing one depending on my mood, experience,and overall outlook…
On Jewish Women in Antiquity and Today. Different times, different tactics
Many women regardless of their life or career choices experience challenges that are unique to their gender. To be sure, men have their own unique challenges, but over the history of mankind women’s challenges were largely overlooked, or at least were not detailed in stories or historic accounts just because the majority of learned and…
Thoughts about Purim this Year – The Origins of Love and Hate
When we talk about the villain of the Purim story, Haman, we most often go to the origins of his ancestor, Amalek, noting how he (his nation) waged war on those of the children of Israel that were week and lingering at the end of the procession on their way out of Egypt: וַיָּבֹ֖א עֲמָלֵ֑ק…
Making Teiglach with my Mom
This Sunday, my mother turned 90! NINETY! Can you imagine? It’s hard for me to imagine since my mom is still the strongest person I know. I am so grateful for her continuous presence in my life. We actually have become closer to each other during the last 10 years than ever before, and it…
Noshing Across the Nation 