We are delighted to announce the launch of a new affiliated website: www.HebrewDailyPhrase.com. The website’s goal is to increase your Hebrew vocabulary by introducing a new Hebrew word or phrase at a time. How is this website different than others?
To quote from www.HebrewDailyPhrase.com/about/ Continue reading
Reblogged from www.literaryAdventure.com
I’m not a big fan of short story collections. Short stories, in my humble opinion, are best suited to magazines. When I pick up a book, I expect a full length story, one that would tempt me to forgo food, drink, and sleep for the privilege of turning the pages. I make exception for very few short story collections. Nathan Englander’s, ‘What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank,’ is one of those exceptions. I have read both Englander’s previous books, ‘For the Relief of Unbearable Urges’ and ‘The Ministry of Special Cases,’ and had high expectations of his latest book. I was not disappointed. Continue reading
When my son was 3 years old he said to me: “Imma, I do not want to celebrate Hannukah, because it is at night and there are no decorations, and I want to wait for Santa to bring me presents”
Although we had lived in America, I thought of us as an Israeli family. We speak Hebrew at home. We mention the state of Israel many times a day. I was certain we were “assimilation proof”.
My son’s statement came as a complete shock and taught me that the “Jewish built-in component” in my Israeli identity is not immune to the triggers and temptations that are out there in the Diaspora, like waiting for Santa Claus’s Reindeer. Continue reading
Now after cooking Shavuot’s traditional dishes, and entertaining family and friends for the Holiday, I can reflect on Megilat Ruth, one of my favorite stories in the Tanach, and its moral.
When I told my friend I plan to blog on the Megila, she questioned whether it wouldn’t be dated since the holiday is behind us. Well, the holiday may be behind us, but the Megila deals with universals themes, which are always relevant and should, in my opinion, be discussed more often. Besides the historical and religious context, this story embraces universal messages that are presented to us through the story of two remarkable women, Naomi and Ruth.
Naomi and Ruth, despite their historical and cultural differences, decided in a very courageous move to put away their differences and to join forces in their desperate moments. Ruth went above and beyond any expectation when she said to Naomi:
“Where you go I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16). Continue reading
I became a Jewish mother when my first son was born over twenty years ago but I didn’t fully absorb being a Jewish mother until much, much later.
One beautiful Saturday afternoon, as our firstborn, six months old at a time, was taking a nap, my husband and I were watching TV. The window was open and the sounds of children playing in the yard drifted into our room. Continue reading
