Jerusalem: Beit Nechemia
Today is Yom HaZikaron, the day Israel remembers its fallen soldiers. As the mother of two IDF soldiers (My daughter wrapped up her service last year; my son is still serving.), this day fills me with apprehension as well as pride. So, to honor Yom HaZikaron, I offer you this little photo essay of Beit Nechemia, a youth center in [...]
Book Companion Post – Chapter: Surberg Concentration Camp Memorial
Today is Yom HaShoa, Holocaust Remembrance Day, commemorated by Jewish communities and individuals worldwide. In Israel, the most remarkable feature of the day is the siren that sounds at sundown (when the day officially begins), and again at 11 a.m., when the entire country comes to standstill for two minutes of silent devotion. The same, by the way, happens on Yom HaZikaron, [...]
Book Companion Post – Chapter: Israel – At the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
In time for Easter, my essay "At the Church of the Holy Sepulchre" appeared on Jerusalem Moments. With it, I thought I'd share a few photos from and around this church, with which I have made more of a peace since that very first visit, retold in this excerpt from Jumping Over Shadows. I pretty much visit the Church of [...]
Book Companion Post – Chapter: Haselnusstorte (or: A Flourless Hazelnut Torte for Passover)
"The next time we visited her, a hazelnut torte would be waiting on her kitchen counter, glazed in glistening dark chocolate." Story and recipe on page 166 of Jumping Over Shadows - A Memoir This chapter was also excerpted in Tablet Magazine, see A Kosher for Passover Hazelnute Torte. I'm going out of chapter order with today's book companion [...]
In Defense of the Small Seder
"So how many people are you having?" - For sure I am going to be asked this question today when I chat about Seder preparations with my coworkers. Read about how I deal with it in my new essay in The Forward: In Defense of the Little Seder. I know this phenomenon applies to other, even non-Jewish holidays as [...]
Book Companion Post – Chapter: Fait Accompli I – My Grandfather’s Staircase
Today is the publication date of my memoir Jumping Over Shadows! Hurray! And thus I offer you my very first book companion post, a series I plan to run every Tuesday until I am out of background material and behind-the-book stories to share with you. I will title them according to which chapter in the book they're accompanying, going, more [...]