first
It was the summer of 1972, I was 16 years old and I was going to Israel for the first time. The trip was organized by Hadassah, six weeks long, we were to spend a week on kibbutz, a week on Gadna (pre-army training camp) at Sde Boker, and the remaining month touring. After we arrived, […]
Sitting in my backyard for hours on Shabbat morning is one of my greatest pleasures. I usually have a magazine or book in my hand, cookbooks and crossword puzzles stacked next to me on the table, and a hot cup of French Press. But when Spring arrives, it’s hard to sit still and I find […]
Imagine sitting in a dimly lit room, when suddenly a stranger walks in, throws open the curtains and turns on the light. Those two small gestures can alter the scene. That’s what I experienced this week when Effi joined our staff. A petite Israeli woman, of Moroccan descent, our conversation quickly turned to food. I […]
I grew up hearing stories of my grandmothers and their preparations for Passover, most of which began way in advance of the holiday. The walls had to be whitewashed, the geese had to be slaughtered and the goose fat rendered, and the down pillows were opened so that the feathers could be cleaned and re-stuffed […]
It is a testament to my parents’ confidence in their ability to transmit their values to my sister and me that they were not threatened by Christmas. I was allowed to attend Christmas dinner at the Bartolinis, listen to holiday music on the radio, help my neighbor Rosemary decorate her Christmas tree, and go to […]
They are almost like characters in a book, these relatives that I have heard so much about but never had the opportunity to meet. The baker, the grocer, and the tanner. Yisroel (Isser) Gutman, my maternal grandfather, the one who I know the most about, owned a tannery in Mogielnica. Is it coincidence or […]
As the summer comes to an end, my thoughts are beginning to turn to Rosh Hashana. These long, lazy days will soon be replaced with an onslaught of holidays and the frenzy of preparation. I wonder if my Mother compiled lists in her head as I have already begun to do. In some ways, even […]
Bamitbach 