A Parent in Israel

TNL Classic: Overly Sensitive New Age Guy

May 15, 2009

Last night, my friend Eliezer and my son Amir dragged me to the movies to see the new Star Trek film. I have not been to a movie theater in more than three years, since we bought our big screen plasma TV. For me, 42 inches is an entirely acceptable alternative to the costs and […]

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The Original Ponzi: An Inside Account

April 24, 2009

Bernard Madoff’s multi-billionaire dollar swindle has been called a “Ponzi Scheme,” referring to a similar scandal perpetrated by Charles Ponzi beginning in 1920. There has been no surfeit in articles on Ponzi, but nearly all have focused on comparing and contrasting Madoff and his would be inspiration. That’s one reason Chapter 3 in my father’s […]

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The Power of Shiva

April 17, 2009

I have paid many shiva calls but I never truly realized how important they are until I sat on the other side of the chair. My father, Walter Blum, died on a Sunday. He was buried on Wednesday. I sat shiva for one day in California at my parents’ home. Then I returned to Israel […]

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Shiva Limbo

April 6, 2009

The most disconcerting thing about my trip to the U.S. for my father’s funeral was the “pre-shiva” period (known in Hebrew as aninut). Shiva is the seven days stipulated by Jewish tradition for mourning following burial. My father died on a Sunday. But the funeral didn’t take place until Wednesday. The official reason was that […]

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Marathon Man

March 30, 2009

I had planned on running in the Jerusalem Half Marathon last week. Instead, I found myself running half way around the world in a frantic attempt to kiss my father one last time before he died. The sprint from the diagnosis of cancer to his final days went alarmingly fast – less than three weeks […]

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Drive-in

March 20, 2009

My son is now a driver. Those six words are probably as significant, if not more – at least to him – than becoming a bar mitzvah. When you’re 13, you get counted in a minyan but other than that it’s just another day in 7th grade. But 17…that’s the year you transcend being a […]

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Getting Through the Night

March 13, 2009

It was Purim evening and Jody and I went dancing. It was an exhilarating night out as thousands of revelers, young and old, from around the country, came to shake and bounce and twirl to free form world music until the wee hours of the night at the post-Megillah Boogie Jerusalem annual extravaganza. We stayed […]

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Using Social Media When the News is Bad

March 6, 2009

When my brother called at 7:30 AM, I knew something was wrong. We had already made a plan to speak at 8:00 PM that night to discuss some work we are doing together. What could be so urgent about revising a project plan? Dad had been diagnosed with lymphoma that morning, my brother said. It […]

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“Getting Back in Touch” via Facebook – Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants

February 19, 2009

Lately, my wife Jody and I have spent a lot of time getting in touch with old friends via Facebook. It started when I received a friend request from Larry. Larry and I were best buddies growing up. But after I moved away, we fell out of touch. I’ve looked for him from time to […]

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The Case of the Purloined Ice Cream

February 13, 2009

My wife Jody has been in the States for the last two weeks to celebrate her father’s 70th birthday, leaving me a “single parent” back in Israel. I’m pretty good at handling the day-to-day activities at home, taking care of the kids, keeping the house running. Except in one area. The kitchen. Frankly, I’m a […]

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