Author: Nicole Nathan Bem

I recently found another entry that was written right after our arrival. And, yep, we are still racing the clock each and every morning,six days a week, just like every other Israeli.Israel. This is a beautiful, wonderful, miraculous country. We love living here. But being from Canada, I sense a different energy here. Life is… Continue reading Mornings In Israel: A High-Wire Act

I was just going through some old journal entries and I found this. It was written just after we made aliyah and well before we started this blog. Reading back on this, I can see how much has changed for my children in the past year They are well adjusted socially, confident, happy and now… Continue reading Mental Health Days

(I wrote this entry a year ago, but our feelings are still the same…and the donuts are still as delicious and caloric as ever….)Feel like I am on an emotional roller coaster. There are so many wonderful things about our new life in Israel. And yet, there are so many stresses to pull me down.… Continue reading Oh Chanukah, Oh Chanukah, Come Light the Menorah…

What seems to be just another run-of-the-mill day here can often morph into an entity of its own. Do car pool, grab a coffee and run off to the opthamologist for a regular check up. Sound normal? Amir and I present our Macabi health cards to the receptionist at the eye doctor. She swipes my… Continue reading Just Another Day in Israel

So Sukkot turned into Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. Everyone gathered at synagogue to make the blessing for rain. After all, we have had over six months of sunshine and deep blue skies – it’s time for some rain. About a dozeon or so of the shuls in our neighbourhood somehow manage to coordinate the… Continue reading Simchat Torah

Chag Sameach to everyone. It is now just two days after Yom Kippur and I can already hear the hammering of poles, a rhythmic clanging, and the thrashing of palm fronds as they are cut down for schach. In fact, the majestic palms that line the thoroughfares here are shorn each October for schach, their… Continue reading Sukkot is in the Air

It is Erev Yom Kippur and, once again, the streets are as busy as ever with everyone preparing for Yom Kippur. Here in Israel, most people fast no matter how religious they are. The paper runs articles on how to prepare for the fast and how to fast safely, complete with menu suggestions. The country… Continue reading Yom Kippur – G’mar Chatima Tova

After having been in Israel for one year, we still feel very privileged to be living in a place where the Jewish calendar is an integral part of life – a magical rhythm no matter how religiously affiliated one is. Looking out my kitchen window when I do the dishes, I just have to glance… Continue reading Shana Tova

This story may not be about life in Israel but it has taught me a lesson. When I first arrived in Israel, I used to get frustrated by Israeli bureaucracy – not any more!I am a Canadian citizen and I have a passport. Problem is, it’s expired. So I downloaded the forms, filled them in,… Continue reading Want A Canadian Passport, eh?

So the ‘מצב,’ or the so-called ‘situation’ here has changed for the moment. The skies are eerily quiet. Last Shabbat, choppers and transport planes filled the night sky, rumbling above. It was nerve-wracking but we grew accustomed to it. I would always be searching the sky, wondering whose son was up there and what fearful… Continue reading A Flute, A Goblet And The Value Of Life