Somehow, between the 5 year-old grandson and his very big almost-14 year old sister, over the course of Rosh Hashanah, the question arose about why a park, where you run around, has the same name as the verb “to park”, as in, to stop running around. The little one came up with some convoluted ideas; the … More live parking
This isn’t as awful as it sounds. (What’s the opposite of trigger alert? Put the the safety back on?) I am actually talking about puns, the kind that we as a group make on Rosh Hashanah. I wrote about it last year here about the symbolic power of foods to spur us to correct our behavior … More groans for the new year
Today, the day after Tisha B’Av, you see all the laundry that people haven’t done since before Shabbat or even before the previous week, hanging out in all its glory. We in the West have learned not to expose our laundry of any kind, whether clean or dirty. But here in Tzfat, in particular, but … More Cleaning up dignity
I heard an audio post about “Hebrew mistakes that make Israelis cringe”. I won’t judge whether they’re reasonable or not; I’ll just try to avoid them as much as possible. But the advice that he offered was to use the phrase אפשר as much as possible. Is it possible? I mean, it means “Is it possible?” … More it’s possible
There are groups and groups of groups that pass by our little apartment here in Tzfat. They are passing from the Abouhav synagogue up to Alkabez Street, the main drag of the Old City, along the path of many galleries and gift shops, begging for business. Seriously, the owners/employees stand out in the very very … More what kind of bird am i?*
I’m in the middle of packing to go to Israel for the summer. And we thought we’d get the house painted while we were away. So, of course, I am overwhelmed with stuff all over the place. But there is physical stuff and the metaphysical stuff, all of which I’m tripping over. Recently, someone mentioned the … More why would we take back our own troubles?
Yup–that’s what I googled. Don’t worry–it auto-corrected. I tried to get many of the acknowledgment notes written today, and it’s just hard to concentrate for too long. Of course, I could easily write the same note to everyone, and for some, I did just that (except neighbors–they might compare. Paranoia is always based on something). … More how to sighn a thank-you note after a funeral
Perhaps just as important as going through the day of Yom Kippur, with all its introspection, is the wrap-up afterwards. After all, what’s the good of a heshbon hanefesh, “accounting of the soul”, without a follow-through? (See this for a discussion how the Mussar movement made this a daily activity). So what do I remember now? … More catching the waves
Now that there is a cease-fire that actually seems to be holding, we can think about things that have been on hold for a bit. Here is something that I heard during a lecture for the seniors at the Beit Avot in Tzfat on aging well: (Hey! It’s never too early to learn about how … More attributed to Mark Twain
The young women here in Tzfat are pretty much like the young women in most places. They like to talk to each other. A lot. Basically, they like to talk. What I’ve noticed most recently is their use of the word כאילו peppered in between most phrases. I have already given away what it means … More like, as in “as if”
Learning from the Learned 