Month: December 2011

  • Beit Shemesh, united against extremists.

    The protest in Beit Shemesh was impressive. We really did have all kinds of people – people with dreads, people with payot, women with head coverings, women with leggings, kids with their parents, charedi guys willing to speak to the news cameras, women holding pamphlets, men holding signs thanking god for making them women. I…

  • Protesting violence and extremism in Beit Shemesh.

    The House of Sun has been pretty dark lately. And by pretty dark, I mean as dark as a ten-layer burqa on a Jewish woman. I  haven’t written about it here, but you can learn more about the abuse of 8-year-old dati leumi Na’ama Margolies, signs ordering women how to modestly walk the streets, and…

  • How’s the serenity?

    That’s for you, Darl.

  • Universe.

    So I don’t believe in ‘a religious God’ or whatever, I’m only human and can only grasp so much, but for me, it’s safe to think that the Universe and its Ways are what guide the world with the Force of… whatever it is keeping us all moving. But this, what I’m about to describe,…

  • Clappy Chanukah.

    On the second night of Chanukah my bebe gave to me… a round of applause. It’s on my top 5 favorite baby milestones of the first year. And the best is, she did it yesterday after I had started singing – indicating at once that she claps at appropriate times and that my singing isn’t…

  • On the first night of Chanukah…

    We accomplished the complete package (ok, sorta): Chanukiyah, fried ktzitzot, sufganiyot, dreidel and a townie Chanukah celebration at the local schools, complete with minors marching with lit torches. I guess we can just go ahead and wrap this holiday up now. (Confession: I feel like Cultural Israel takes this holiday SO INCREDIBLY SERIOUSLY and the…

  • Joshua’s messing with us.

    “And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies.” I remember learning it in 4th grade and it seriously always stuck with me. It was a ‘holy shit, dude’ moment back then, and it remained so for many years. Until one day, walking somewhere in Israel,…

  • When you mix Jews, legalities, Facebook…

    Facebook + Jew vs Jew + lawsuit? Not the first time this has happened, Mark Zuckerberg(s)! Israeli entrepreneur becomes Mark Zuckerberg to fight Facebook But we had to have known some Israeli would have the balls to do this: Israeli entrepreneur Rotem Guez has legally changed his name to Mark Zuckerberg in response to legal…

  • New Israeli homebirth restrictions drafted (where’s midwife trust?)

    From Haaretz: Israel ministry drafts new rules to restrict home births A woman planning to give birth at home will have to obtain a letter from her family doctor testifying that she is both physically and mentally sound, under new regulations being drafted by the Health Ministry that many believe are aimed at curtailing home…

  • #ImmigrantParentProblems.

    So, for just a minute, humor me. I make an ongoing effort to forget how hard this is. I swallow a lot in order to make the daily grind seem easier. And I try to push away my lucky, amazing, beautiful problems because I know so many people have much worse challenges: poor health… empty…

  • Running 101: A 10k for beginners.

    10k’d, bitches! Last night I ran my first race, the Jerusalem 10k. The plan was to run up to about 6 (my top so far had been 5.3) and walk the rest, maybe attempting to finish the last kilometer on a run. Instead, I ran the whole thing… whoops. How could you not? It was incredible!…

  • Jerusalem night run (for mattresses).

    Aaand I’m doing this. I was supposed to start the ‘running circuit’ in the Tel Aviv 10k in March 2012, but alas – F it. I’ll probably walk half of it, but it should be a nice and… relaxing? night out.