Israel at War -My Blog
Threshold Junkie
I started the “Couch to 5K” running-workout a little over four weeks ago. Until this morning, the only physical feat I could claim after these aerobic jaunts was: I felt a little less like I was going to die each time I did it. Four weeks of a prescribed combo of...
Days Of Awe Playlist
Music was my first introduction to spirituality. Chassidic philosophy was my second. I choose music like I choose friends: I stay close to good vibed, good hearted and truth telling artists, inevitably dipped in the blues, rock, jazz and grit. My inner soundtrack...
What a pair of shackles and Nike swoosh taught me about gratitude
This morning found me at the hospital with one of my kids waiting to check in for a small, out-patient procedure. The number 699 flashed in red above the reception desk, I pulled number 714 and looked for a seat. I scanned the chairs and noticed four men in matching...
Making Out With G-d
I learned early on that prayer is primarily about communication. l learned this first from watching Harold and Maude, then years later in a Torah class. For the most part, my M.O. as far as prayer is concerned has been to simply talk to G-d, kind of like I would to a...
Jew Forever
We recently moved away from a neighborhood where virtually everyone wears their Judaism on their long sleeves. Black hats, headscarves, yarmulkes of every size, color and texture; long, flowing skirts; straight, kick-pleated skirts, stockings in the summertime; and of...
Just because….
G-d communicates with us all the time. The Ba’al Shem Tov brought this simple truth to life with his famous teaching: “There is not one leaf that falls from a tree that is not divinely ordained.” The idea that G-d is constantly engaged with our world is a not new...
Postcard From the Edge
I know how hard it is to be away from the land that you love- especially when that land is under attack. I am so grateful for the genuine concern that has been expressed to our family from our friends and family abroad. Thank you for caring about us. I thought I’d...
Grief is a Strange Beast
Dear, dear friends and family – There are things about loss and grief that cannot be rushed. Try as I have to step away from time, she has an uncanny knack for finding me with a stop watch around her neck and a water bottle in her hands, urging me into sweat pants and...
Respect for King David
I’m not the best pray-er in town (as I’ve mentioned elsewhere), but these past few days I’ve been saying psalms with more intention and intensity than I have in a long time.Tough times have me leaning a little harder on G-d, ain’t no two ways about it. The news of the...
Dimmer Switches and Stillness
I’m a doer by nature. I make bread and cake and babies. I work, I clean things, I push hard. I often see myself on a journey for the dimmer switch in my life, trying to find the balance between the side of me that approaches life with the energy and productivity of a...
Slow Champ
It’s been several months since my first attempt at running and finally, I don’t feel as if I’m going to die each time. That’s progress people. Major progress. I am currently running 3.25 K (or 25 mins straight), a bit past the half way mark to my goal of “couch to 5...
Holy Cow
My family and I made a blessed move to the Golan Heights two and half years ago. We live in a small agricultural community – just shy of 100 families, there is not a day that the magic of this place is lost on me. Especially at this time of year – when the wild...