Why are Israelis so self-deprecating?

The other day I told an Israeli guy that he didn’t come across as very Israeli. He was so complimented. Especially coming from an expert – you know, a non-Sabra from the dreamy West.
Two days ago another Israeli was saying how Israelis think they’re the worst at everything. The most immoral, rude, dumb. “No, not [...]

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Oh yeah? Well, what IS your type?

It’s funny how some people when we first meet them, we have this gut feeling that they’re just not our type. Especially when looking for a life partner, when you meet someone, you have a first instinct of, is there potential of my feelings to develop for this person?
I know a couple who, when they [...]

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The Katamon “bitza” or the singles scene, an introduction

Today I was invited to go to a friend’s friend for Shabbat lunch. My friend is visiting from the U.S. and that was her way of seeing me while she’s here for a few days. That worked perfectly for me because, since I just moved back to Israel, I really need to meet new people [...]

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Israel, for better and for worse

Today, Monday, is the first day of the rest of my life, even though I arrived here three days ago. Friday was the eve of Rosh Hashana – the Jewish new year – and so I got a grace period during which I got to enjoy Jerusalem at its best.
And yet, as I sit here [...]

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This is the most important generation

I’m just listening to an amazing talk by Rabbi Dovid Orlofsky called “Why be Jewish?” It is on a website I’ve never seen before but is definitely worth taking  a look at called SimpletoRemember.com Judaism online. Check it out.
Anyway, one of the most interesting things he’s said so far is that the newer generation is [...]

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Hitler’s children: a project

There is a project going on that brings together children of top Nazis with Holocaust survivors. There is a short video that you can see here that shows interviews with these descendants of some of the worst monster-humans to ever live. It’s heart-wrenching to watch and so interesting.

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Sin’at chinam – baseless hatred

This morning I was so riled up by the events in Jerusalem. Very Charedi woman arrested for allegedly abusing her son. Major, extremely intense protests by her community (and beyond?) against her arrest. Threats. Burning garbage. Throwing stones. Really quite horrifying!
I cannot say that it’s easy for me to be understanding about their behavior. But [...]

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The Hebrew Mamita

This video speaks for itself. Her performance is very powerful.

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Beauty from Jerusalem

I’m always so proud to see the beautiful things that come out of Israel. I would have loved to see this light show in Jerusalem, in person, but the pictures do, somehow, do it some justice. It ran on solar energy. Gotta love it.
Solar-Powered Night Garden in Jerusalem

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A beautiful article about Charedim and Israel

This article by Jonathan Rosenblum really touched me. I happened to read two articles today that were, at least in part, about why one would live in Israel. Neither are telling anyone else to move there but just talking about their own feelings in living there. The interesting thing is that the second article is [...]

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