We had just finished saying our goodbyes to my visiting aunts. I sauntered out of the hotel, and as I exited, watched a couple emptying out of their vehicle. The man's back faced me as he assisted his, I assumed, wife from the back seat, and upon his silver hair sat an obvious black kippah. Observing more closely, I saw they were dressed in their Shabbas clothes -- he in a suit of black with a white shirt and black tie; she in an elegant, floral pencil skirt with a long-sleeved blouse and ...
Jerusalem
Returning Home
Pesach [Passover] begins tomorrow evening. I'm listening to The Prince of Egypt soundtrack. Later, I'll be getting my last bagel before the upcoming 8 days of matzah (B''H). And for whatever reason, I can't stop thinking of home. I miss it. Of course, I don't mean Texas from where I hail. I mean Israel. I mean Jerusalem. These past few weeks, the desire to go back has been aching again. Then again, it never really goes away. It just ebbs and flows with intensity. It's been almost 3 ...
Israel: 70 Years of Beauty
As my rabbi loves to quip, “What a long month this week has been.” My week can be summoned up in two words: Oy. Vey. I’ll just skip my usual digression and say Life has been unusually busy recently. (Though, I feel like it’s been this way since January…?) Regardless, I’m finding myself inspired today. Yes, Life has been rough, painful, stressful – you name it. And intense? Did I mention intense? However, it’s all been worth it. It always is. I think a perfect example of this is ...
Homesick
It's been one year, 257 days, and 11 hours as I write this since I arrived in the land of Israel, ארץ ישראל, and probably about one year, 246 days, and 11 hours since I returned (if my math is correct). And I'm homesick. It ebbs and flows, this longing of my soul, to return to the one place in this entire world I truly, deeply know I belong. Sometimes the longing is overwhelming, pouring from my aching soul through my tears. Other times, it is merely a sense of consciousness that ...
Restoring Jerusalem
Today, something very important is going to happen. I say “very important”. Let me rephrase… Dramatic. Significant. Epical. Necessary. Vital. Historical. I could keep going by merely opening a thesaurus and just picking any word that relates to “important”, for you see today something wonderful is going to happen, something which we have been waiting for a long time. President Trump is going to announce his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel. Now, before I ...
