Lizrael Update

Lizrael Update: babbling about the expat life since 2004

  • What?

    “You’re a love.” “What?” “You’re a love.” “What, Ima?” “You’re a love.” “What?!” “You’re. A. Love.” “?מה”

  • Can nothing else save Kadima?

    Obviously: Faith healer wants top Kadima slot [Times of Israel] Oren Zarif claims he secured Mofaz’s victory for him through supernatural intervention A popular psychokinetic mystic has demanded that the newly installed head of Kadima make him his right hand man, Israel National News reported. In a letter to MK Shaul Mofaz, Oren Zarif insisted that…

  • President Obama knows he’s sexy.

    This is not ceasing to be funny for me, so I’m just gonna keep going back to it when my day drags on, and I’m going to share it with you. President Barack Obama sings LMFAO’s Sexy and I Know It.

  • That Black Eyed Peas song’s in my head.

    (This one.) Ran my second 10k today as part of the Tel Aviv marathon. My head was definitely not as much in the game as it was during my first run (the Jerusalem Night Run), where adrenaline and newbie-ness definitely took control. It was fun, and it’s great to beat my personal best, and especially to…

  • Co-op drama in Park Slope: Daily Show has it covered.

    I left America to avoid places like Park Slope. So I’ve been hearing bits and pieces of the local Brooklyn grocery co-op drama, where half the members wanted to ban Israeli products and the other half were protesting. Decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict? The most ravaged, tragic victims were in Park Slope Brooklyn all along… Of course,…

  • Running from.

    Sometimes, when I run… …I’m running from the stories that haunt me. I’m running from the stress of being a parent, of propelling a small child’s world, of having so much to lose. I’m running from the cold air nipping at my skin, teething on my bare arms. I’m running from the hourly news reports…

  • Fifty-Two Frames: Birds.

    One of the most fun things for me about participating in the Fifty-Two Frames project is that every week, there’s some new minute aspect of life I get to focus on. Like birds. For instance – I never realized how loud birds are in my neighborhood. Because there are TONS of them on top of…

  • And now for some local horror.

    I don’t miss the part of living in Katamon, in Jerusalem, when a Beitar game would be on. Beitar Jerusalem fans are known for a right-wing/arse/loud/violent combination of stereotype. This, though. This is disgustingly criminal. It’s been a bit buried in the papers – partly because it happened around the time of the France Jew…

  • The new American Hagaddah.

    Enjoyed this. Another moment of awesome by Stephen Colbert at the end. Who’s ready for Passover?

  • Segulah this.

    Shared with me by an old colleague, I thought it timely to post now after yesterday’s  religion rambles and rants. Definition of segulah ranges from folk remedy to supernatural cure. Best Time Tested Segulos Segulah for recovery from illness: Go to a doctor (Berachot 60a, Bava Kamma 46b) Segulah for longevity: Lead a healthy lifestyle (Rambam, Deos…

  • Finally nailed it: This is where I am religiously.

    For years – maybe forever – I never really mentioned here my religious affiliation outright. Part of it was because I didn’t want to be placed in a box. Part of it was because I found it so hard to define. Part of it was because I honestly didn’t know. In an article published today in Jewish…

  • Orthodox Jewish dating gone raw.

    There’s been heightened talk in the last year or so about how the dating practices of Orthodox Jews (not modern Orthodox) – shidduchim, or matchmaking – have gone awry. Connected to that is the issue of hyper-modesty, which has certainly been a volatile topic in the last year and decade, in Israel and outside. The…

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