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Winter has begun in Israel and we are praying for rain daily. Because rain is seasonal here, it's crucial for crops and water sources. This made me think further about the fact that mikveh, ritual baths, must derive from a natural water source ( sidenote:  it is only a small portion of the mikveh water but it must be present). Why is that? First, it is important to understand what the mikveh was and is now used for. Originally, one immersed in a mikveh to purify one's self to

I love being in synagogue on Shabbat this time of year. The parasha (portion of the week) is filled with interesting stories. There's so much to learn from the interactions and relationships we read about every week. Being in Israel as we read these parshiyot  makes it even more meaningful. The Torah truly comes alive. What do I mean? This past Sunday was the 11th of Cheshvan, which is the date our matriarch Rachel passed away on the way to Bethlehem. It is a date that many g

It's been two years since Oct. 7th 2023, which this year falls on the first day of Sukkot. For me, when I think of Sukkot, I think of this picture   This was taken on October 4th, 2023. It was the last time my entire family was together before October 7th and at the time, we had no clue how significant that was going to be. My brother and brother-in-law were immediately called up on October 7th. My brother-in-law got badly injured in January, only regaining consciousness in l

Close friends of ours just got married in Israel! Unfortunately, we were not there to celebrate. But we offered to host S heva Brachot  in our house the morning after we land from the US (we're set to arrive late the night before). We are very excited and honored. So I wanted to take the opportunity to share a little more about this special and beautiful custom (yes it is custom and not an obligation — more on that below). "Sheva brachot" means seven blessings. These are the

From the 17th of Tammuz until the 9th of Av (23rd of July- 13th of August this year) we enter a special period of time called the Three Weeks. Both of these Hebrew dates mentioned above are fast days. The former is a minor fast day and the latter, Tisha B'av in Hebrew, is one of two major fasts on the Jewish calendar (the other one is Yom Kippur). Minor fasts are from sunrise to nightfall and the only prohibitions are to not eat or drink, whereas major ones last 25 hours and