Category: Israel Life

 

A sukkah on an outdoor balcony – courtesy of Chabad.org

‘You shall dwell in Sukkahs for seven days’ (Vayikra 23:42). What is the reason behind this mitzvah? Why do we leave our comfortable houses and live in wooden booths for a week? Chazal brings two opinions (Sukkah 11b). Rabbi Eliezer holds that we commemorate the fact that Klal Yisrael were surrounded by the ananai hacavod (clouds of glory) in the wilderness, affording them a special Divine protection. However, Rabbi Akiva holds that we read the verse literally and we remember the fact that Klal Yisrael dwelled in booths. Continue reading “Sukkos – A time of unrestricted happiness”

A man waves an Israeli flag at Damascus Gate in the Old City during Jerusalem Day celebrations on June 5, 2024. Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90.

The fight for survival brings out the best in our people, who step up to the plate time and again to help their fellow citizens, their fellow Jews, yearn to make this nation thrive. Continue reading “Upping our game in Israel”

[Originally posted by Hanoch Daum, translated by JewishMOM.com]

My husband, Tal Shoham (Tal ben Nitsa) is still a hostage in the hands of the Hamas.

I came back from that place- along with my children, my mother, and a few other relatives. Continue reading “My Husband, the Hostage by Tal Shoham”

Rabbi Yisroel Bernath at a Jewish wedding. Credit: Courtesy.

“I’d have to call no-marriage the silent killer,” says media matchmaker Aleeza Ben Shalom. “No marriage, no kids—it’s tough on the Jewish future.” Continue reading “Moving from ‘I probably won’t’ to ‘I do’: Getting millennials to the ‘chuppah’”

As a great-grandmother living in Israel, I admit that I am not coping well with this war. I want to be a good role model, a source of strength to my children and grandchildren but the truth is that although I’m battling my fear and sorrow, I am not winning.

Continue reading “PTSG and the Elderly”

As told by Rabbi Joey Haber on Torah Anytime Daily Dose.

“The Torah tells us that if you save one life, it is like you save the whole world? After the six day war in 1967, I said to myself, what can I do to thank G-d for the miracles. I will leave Jerusalem and go to a place that is very dark – Migdal HaEmek. This city at this time was the worst city filled with crime, drugs. I decided that I will build a home for these kids. Because when you speak to them face to face in jails, in the discos, I found that these kids are good guys.” Rabbi Dovid Grossman Continue reading “The Disco Rabbi – Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman”

“This is the 9th Shabbat that I am making Challah for Soldiers. I make it by hand, it’s a labor of love. It dictates my day…..So while they are fighting the physical war, we must nourish them and preserve the home as we battle the spiritual war.” Anat Ishai aka Challah Mom Continue reading “What Challah Taught Me About Life”

“It is not optimism or a good attitude, but a sense of purpose that you work at and build. We all can create hope.” Continue reading “Is there hope for 2024?”

Photo by Zdeněk Macháček on Unsplash

Galya Kalfa was born and raised in Toronto and made Aliyah to Yerushalayim with her family. She is a Wingate Institute certified Health and Fitness Coach, as well as a Hydrotherapist. She studied in Shiras Sarah, a Teacher’s Training Fellowship, under the guidance of Rabbi Yitzchak Feigenbaum.  Continue reading “The Baal Teshuva Parrot”

At the top of Har Tzion in Jerusalem you will discover a remarkable woman. Rebbetzin Shoshana Goldstein, who is the mother of 16 wonderful children, with another on the way, believes: “Raising a large family is a privilege.” She has successfully turned her beautiful family into a women’s choir. Her 12 precious daughters make up her choir.  Continue reading “The Goldstein Girls’ Choir”