A Parent in Israel

Personal Space

February 23, 2006

It’s a familiar scene in our house. Too familiar. One of the kids will be sitting on the couch reading or playing in the living room. Another kid will come up, sit down right in his or her space and either start something in a demonstratively bothersome way, or try to enter uninvited into the […]

Read the full article →

A Nerd and Proud of It

February 16, 2006

“You’re a ch’noon,” my twelve-year-old daughter Merav impishly pronounced me one day after I refused to let her take an “emotional health” day from school. “What’s a…what did you call me?” I replied. “A ch’noon,” Merav said, repeating the Israeli slang that, to the best of my fading Hebrew uplan memory, was not on the […]

Read the full article →

Red Lines

January 12, 2006

It was only a matter of time before one of our kids demanded access to what may be the most rebellious, dangerous and terrifying activities known to parents in Israel. In this case, the culprit in question was twelve-year-old Merav, and her act of teenage defiance? She wanted to ride the bus. In normal circumstances, […]

Read the full article →

With Pleasure

January 5, 2006

I was leaving a meeting at about 9:00 PM on a Thursday night when I heard my cell phone beep. It was a text message from my wife Jody. It read: “Did you get my other message?” And I thought: uh oh…that meant I had missed something important. I saw that there was indeed another […]

Read the full article →

Scooter Boy

December 21, 2005

As we were coming to pick up our six-year-old Aviv from his third week in first grade last year, his new teacher pulled my wife Jody and me aside. “He seems a little spacey in class,” Yael said. “Like he’s not really paying attention. I’m not sure he’s really ‘getting’ things. I’m a bit concerned.” […]

Read the full article →

The Meaning of Bat Mitzvah

October 31, 2005

Our twelve-year-old daughter Merav became bat mitzvah this weekend. It was an amazing event for the whole family. She read the entire Torah portion of Bereshit plus the haftorah, and she gave a stellar drash to boot. Jody and I were shepping nachas big time. I wanted to share with you the talk Merav gave […]

Read the full article →

“I Need to Make”

October 24, 2005

We were in the middle of nowhere, hiking through a flat desert plane between two mountain ridges with nary a bush or significant cluster of rocks located anywhere in close range, when seven-year-old Aviv nonchalantly blurted out:   “I need to make.”   Four words that every parent has heard repeated countless times, in countless […]

Read the full article →

Party of Eight

September 22, 2005

There’s a line in the movie “Risky Business” where the character played by a teenage Tom Cruise decides to throw a party while his parents are away for the weekend. When the folks call to check in on him and hear music and merriment in the background, they confront their son over the phone who […]

Read the full article →

Romantic Dinner…For Three

September 8, 2005

Coming home after vacation is always a bit tough. The time away is filled with adventure, with new things to see and do every day. There’s no school, no need to wake up early. And most of all (if everyone gets along that is) you have plenty of quality time together as a family. That […]

Read the full article →

Facing Our Fears

July 29, 2005

With his older brother and sister gallivanting around California presumably having a grand time on an extended summer vacation with their grandparents, we knew we had to spend some extra quality time with our seven-year-old Aviv who had been “left behind” in Israel. This need was made abundantly clear during a phone call Aviv had […]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →