The past couple of days have been a little loaded emotionally since Shira left. I think it’s to be expected that when one gets quality time with family and then it ends, one thinks about the importance of having family around and how hard it is to be far away. It is also understandable […]

The thing that I love most about you, my faithful readers, is how forgiving you are. Certainly you understand that I have been swept up in sisterly fun for the past few days and our internet has been moody (again), so I have not found the time to write. I know you’ll also find […]

In the Orthodox world, the standard response to “How are you?” or “How are things?” is “Baruch Hashem” (Blessed is the Name of Gd), which essentially means that no matter what the circumstances, one acknowledges that Gd is The Source and all that comes from him is essentially good. “Baruch Hashem” is also used […]

The standard greeting on Rosh Chodesh (the beginning of the new month) is “Chodesh Tov” or “Have a good month”. All I can say is, I hope it will only go up from here. I was completely pumped for my day at Moshav Modi’im for their women’s Rosh Chodesh celebration, but things got a […]

I got in touch with my new tutor yesterday (recommended to me by Leah Golomb) and immediately we both sensed it was a good shidduch (match). What I liked about her is that she not only has a wealth of textual knowledge, but she also has a store of factoids about different rabbis and […]

I don’t know what it is about Shabbat here, but every week, without fail, I find myself homesick. It’s the most ironic thing because Shabbat is at its peak here in Israel, especially in Jerusalem. Even the air is infused with a holy energy. You’d think I’d want to stick around and drink it […]

Walking on the streets or riding the buses of Jerusalem, as in any city, can sometimes feel like a fashion extravaganza. After almost three months here, there is one thing I can say for sure about Israeli women: the ones who know how to work it know how to work it. The style among […]

A wise person once told me that getting sick is the body’s way of telling you to slow down. I conveniently forgot that piece of sage advice until today, when after a particularly frustrating morning, I called my teacher Leah to vent about pretty much everything. I told her about the tough transition to […]

Last night I went to the first installment of my Women’s Chabura Intensive in Nachlaot. The Chabura is basically a discussion forum in which the women work together to discover their own personal avodah (task or work) in the world. Our group is small, only 7 or 8 women, and all are wives […]

Looks like my prayer for help has been answered in the form of my wonderful husband. Shuie took the day off of school and has tended to Yonah all morning so I could sleep. He took Yonah to the doctor to get a throat culture (Shuie said he cried :(); so far the verdict […]