Palestinian Arabs have concentrated many of their terrorist attacks on Jews in Jerusalem, hoping to win the city by an onslaught of terror, who seek to make life in the City of Peace unbearable. But this is not a new tactic. Arab strategy to turn Jerusalem into a battleground began in 1920. more

Before a day begins, there are many unknowns about what will take place. There are usually general ideas about what will happen, but some of the details about the specifics of the day are a bit vague. Last Monday, April 15, 2013, began as a nice and normal day. I do not think that anybody would have predicted what would have occurred. more

Nobody gets out of here alive and it doesn’t matter how you leave, it matters how you lived your life while you were here. We are all on the way, way to what? Will we ever get there? Can we? We were allowed to come here for a purpose; we have a mission, a tikkun, a repair for our souls and for others. We start out small, knowing nothing of this place and have to grow to become all we can become. more

Sometimes I really miss the political process in my birth country, the United States. more

As the three weeks before Tisha B’Av approach, I often find myself reimagining what the ancient Israelites’ lives must have been like all those centuries ago as they anticipated the sadness, confusion, and dire consequences of the Temple’s impending destruction.  I often ask, “Did the Jews of Jerusalem know how their lives would change?” This year, I find myself asking other questions, such as, “Did the Diaspora Jews, those who lived in Babylonia or Egypt, know how tumultuous their lives were about to become?” This question is a poignant one for our time, and the potential answers to it drag up some frightening realizations for 5772 and into the future. more

I’m obsessed with reading… a great book, an interesting magazine, my favorite newspapers, comics, emails, Facebook updates and tweets. When I was a kid I read cereal boxes, just to keep busy while enjoying breakfast. There were puzzles on the back, things to send away for or even a pop single to cut out and play on the record player (does anyone remember that? I once got an Archies song). Lately I’ve gotten into reading food labels because I’m also obsessed with eating well. more

Very few stories in the Torah are more tragic than the story of Joseph and his brothers. It begins, seemingly, with an innocent gift, a demonstration of a father’s love for his beloved child. But when Yaakov bestows the magnificent striped coat on his son Joseph, the ten brothers aren’t so filled with love. Favoritism, jealousy, behaviors far from ideal are brewing, resulting in a moment of tragedy 4,000 years ago that the Jewish people are still struggling to undo. more

Prince Charming doesn’t always find Cinderella, and stories do not always have ‘happy’ endings, as most of us learn the hard way. I remember once, after a harried chase, catching a masked Arab who had been heaving rocks and cinderblocks at an IDF position in Hebron. more

At age 50, I am happily reinventing myself. When my first child was born I left computer programming to be a full time mom. For the last 24 years I filled my life raising three kids, managing our home and with fulfilling volunteer work and writing. I have no regrets but was worrying a lot about what to do next, about finding work. About 15 years ago I began to take yoga. more

Once, in the midst of a class, I noticed a student’s eyes begin to water. We were having a discussion about identity, and how we tap in to who we really are. In tears, he explained how he had arrived at Isralight in Jerusalem. He had been a concert violinist with enormous potential, until in a tragic freak accident; he got his hand caught in a car door. After all the hospital care and operations, his hand was left partially paralyzed, and his career in music was over. And he realized, with panic, that he had no idea who he was any more. Whenever anyone would ask ‘what do you do?’ his response had always been: “I’m a violinist.” But that was no longer true. So who was he? more