Observations about life in Israel from a Canadian immigrant's perspective.
I have roughed it. At least I thought I had…until last week. Over the years, I have backpacked through Southeast Asia and trekked the Himalayas. I have slept in yurts, barns, shacks, tents and palapa huts, in dark forests, under sequoias and in steamy jungles. I have slept at 16,000 feet in a tent buffeted… Continue reading Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
Tonight, as darkness cloaked Eretz Israel, we lit the first candle of Chanukah. The wicks, floating in vials of olive oil, flickered as they brought light into the night. This is symbolic of the Jewish people; our mission is to light up a dark world. Our contemporary world is cloaked in a very thick black… Continue reading Swords Into Plowshares
Mother always gave me paper whites. Each December, she would hand me a gift-wrapped pot with bulbs poking out of rocks. It didn’t look like much. I would be depressed by the onset of winter, a time when horizon and ground melded, the dark, drab sky perfectly morphing into the dark, drab concrete; and when… Continue reading Mother Gave Me Paper Whites
Isaiah's wise words: Chapter 60, verse 20. Arise mourner. Arise. Arise. The rabbi said this three times--and still it was not enough. I felt glued to my chair, paralyzed, afraid. And then, as if a puppeteer pulled a string, I rose from my chair and braced myself to face the world: a new, hardened reality;… Continue reading Arise Mourner
Denny...my lovely mom. This beautiful eulogy for Denny Nathan was written by a close friend of forty years, Reva Stern. Reva read this at the levaya on November 13, 2014. I humbly stand before you at the bequest of our beloved Denny. It’s hard to imagine anyone having the presence of mind, or the strength… Continue reading A Woman of Valour
<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5… Continue reading Baruch Dayan Emet
<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;} @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:128; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-format:other; mso-font-pitch:fixed; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4… Continue reading The Power of A Plastic Poppy
Canada, once described by a historian as a “peaceable kingdom,” has been struck in the heart. To their horror, Canadians experienced two terror attacks this week. In the first, a soldier was killed in a hit and run. In the second, a lone gunman killed a solider guarding the War Memorial in Ottawa, then fled… Continue reading Show and Tell
Picture on Etrog Box Wednesday felt a bit like a marathon. It was erev Sukkot, the holiday that takes place five days after Yom Kippur. Also known as the Festival of Booths, the holiday is centered around a Sukkah. Most people traditionally start building their sukkahs right after the Yom Kippur fast. This was not… Continue reading We are not in Oz
The days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are called the Aseret Yomei Teshuvah, the ten days of repentance. This sounds very heavy and it actually is. In the Midrash Tanchumah, it is written that G-d says, “The gates of Heaven are open, and I will listen to your prayers.” During these days, we feel… Continue reading A Meaningful Life
Life in Israel 