Observations about life in Israel from a Canadian immigrant's perspective.
Newspaper headline reads: "The honor of helping." A natural disaster hit Nepal on Saturday. An earthquake that registered 7.8 crushed the country. The quake killed over 5,200 people, injured 10,000 and created a state of homelessness and hunger for tens of thousands of survivors. Countries around the world offered help and aid. The US, India… Continue reading How Israel loves mankind
Selling flags in anticipation of Yom Ha'atzma'ut. Twenty three thousand three hundred and twenty flags are flying half-mast today. These blue and white flags were lovingly placed at the graveside of fallen Israeli soldiers and victims of terror. Sixty seven years of statehood: 23,320 lives lost for the sake of being Jews in a Jewish… Continue reading 23,320 flags
We are about to light our Yom Tov candles and enter into the eighth and final day of Pesach. We started counting the Omer on the second night of Pesach. We will count up each night until we reach 49 and arrive at Shavuot, the giving of the Torah. These seven weeks represent self growth… Continue reading The power of giving
I crank up our little gas oven to kasher it. I soak the knobs in soapy water, clean out the fridge and wash down the counters. Now ready for the final phase of kashering, I pour boiling water across all of the counters and tabletops. Carefully wiping up the steaming water with a clean towel,… Continue reading Spiritual cleansing
It has been another challenging week here in Israel. Life in Israel is similar to being on a roller coaster. There are ups and downs, curves and moments of terror, then incredible highs before a steep plummet. The day before election, this country was perched at the top of a deep abyss. We voted and… Continue reading It's a roller coaster ride
"It's us or them," says Netanyahu. Election fever is at a pitch here in Israel. Enormous photos of candidates’ faces stare us down from billboards at every intersection. The highway is lined with their messages, some threatening doom and gloom, others insulting competing candidates. For me, the polls predict a grim, terrifying future. Since Israel… Continue reading Jews wandering the desert
(video promoting the parade in 2011) For such a teensy country, Israel has many faces and personalities. This week, en route to a desert hike in the Negev, we found ourselves in Sde Boker, a tiny desert community on the edge of a dramatic canyon. Turns out my daughter is in the army with a… Continue reading A Purim Journey
One big family. When my daughter Aviva’s new Ethiopian soldiers arrive on base, they are beaming, white teeth gleaming behind open ready smiles, happy to please and succeed. Aviva shows them how to stand at attention and how to work under time constraints. Echad, shtaim, shalosh (one, two, three). She shouts this mantra several hundred times… Continue reading Wearing army boots
Their lives are too hard. They are so sweet and know so little. They’re like my children. Learning how to tell time. These are the words of my 19-year-old daughter, Aviva, who is talking about the Ethiopian soldiers she supervises. All are all new immigrants to Israel. Aviva started working as a mefakadet (sergeant) in… Continue reading Our mosaic, Eretz Israel
Who said Israel had enough problems? Tuesday night, the wind was howling so ferociously, we decided to close all the shutters in the apartment, clamming ourselves in like oysters. Still it whistled and clamored, finding cracks to enter and buffeting the curtains. Looking at my iphone, I saw the strangest four-letter word forecast. There were… Continue reading Dust in the forecast
Life in Israel 