News and Reflections
Reflections on Prayer for Rain
The rains started last week. It was a long dry spell—too long-- and when the meteorologists started predicting a storm, it was all people could talk about. The anticipation in the air was almost celebratory… as if an important guest was coming to town, or a popular...
Reflections on Leaving and Returning
July 2011 I just came home from being abroad for six days. The trip was my mother’s idea and it was an incredible one! My mother, my two sisters, Judy and Batya, and my brother-in-law Richie, live in America, all in the New York area, and my husband and I live in...
Reflections on Lag Ba Omer
I think I’ll put in my last load of laundry tomorrow so I can take in any clothing hanging out on the line to dry, before Thursday night when the fires will be set. I make a reminder for myself to close all the windows of the house tightly in order to try and...
Reflections on Kinnot
July 2010 Today is Tisha B’Av, a fast day which falls on the ninth day of the month of Av in the Hebrew calendar. It started last night after our final evening meal, which was relatively quiet and somber, reflecting the mood of the 25 hour period we were about to...
Reflections on Keeping Kosher
July 2009 School is out and my house reflects the fact that there are now more kids at home full time. So does my kitchen. I came home yesterday to find watermelon rinds and empty sacks of flour splayed on the counter tops and both kitchen sinks overflowing with...
Reflections on Jewish Music
I’m still on a high from last night. When I got home, it was really late, but I was so charged by what I had experienced, that I needed to unwind. I spent some time talking with my daughter before going upstairs, and read a few pages of my book before turning out...
People in my Neighborhood: Netanel
Coming of age. Rites of passage. This brings to mind images of a boy in a loincloth, holding a sword in one hand and a sack of grain in the other, going off into the woods to kill his first bear. Or someone breaking out a bottle of bubbling champagne and drinking...
Israel and Iran ~ March 7, 2012
Prime Minister Netanyahu just completed a very important visit to the US. He addressed AIPAC, the important pro-Israel lobby organization, and met with President Obama. Commentators have seen Obama’s speech at AIPAC as very pro-Israel, although some have...
UNESCO, Gilad Shalit, Iran – November 8, 2011
These past few weeks have included a number of significant events, seemingly unrelated, and yet all bear watching for their inevitable affect on current affairs in Israel. In early September, Mahmoud Abbas began the process of obtaining UN recognition for a...
Am Yisrael Chai – Israel lives – December 5, 201
Today the four women who make up CFOIC Heartland’s Israel office went on an outing, to recharge our batteries and learn something new about our wonderful land of Israel. We chose the Palmach Museum in Tel Aviv which tells the story of the pre-State underground...
