Darkness at the Edge of Town

September 7, 2011

As the darkness settled over us, I felt an unanticipated sense of panic. I had been expecting to be unsettled, startled, certainly disoriented; I didn’t realize it would bring up so many deep and hidden emotions. To set the stage: my wife Jody and I were dining in the Black Out Restaurant at the Nalaga’at […]

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Announcing a House Concert with Niv Kaikov

September 1, 2011

Niv Kaikov For those of you living in Israel, we are very excited to invite you to an intimate house concert with Niv Kaikov, a dynamic young Israeli musician, on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011, at 8:00 PM. Jody and I met Niv while he was playing outside on Rothschild Boulevard (yes, the same street at the […]

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Sweating the Small Stuff Too

August 23, 2011

Hutzot HaYotzer arts and crafts festival last year While it’s the big news that gets all the headlines, sometimes it’s the small stuff that’s the hardest to sweat. Last week, terrorists attacked along the Israel-Egypt border just north of Eilat. The ensuing days have been filled with IDF strikes and Gazan counterattacks. More people have […]

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Unaccompanied Minor

August 19, 2011

I took my 13-year-old son Aviv to the airport last night. He was flying as an “unaccompanied minor” to Los Angeles to meet up with his grandparents who have promised him two weeks of unmitigated American fun (roller coasters, beaches and all you can eat sushi – yum, I wish I was 13 again!) The […]

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Dueling Eicha’s…with Wheels

August 9, 2011

Segways at the tayelet The holiday of Tisha B’av has befallen us (yes, pun intended) and Jews all over the world are spending the day reflecting, fasting or otherwise using the holiday’s restrictions to avoid shaving and bathing for a day. On the evening of Tisha B’av, it is traditional to hear the book of […]

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A Capitalist’s Take on the Tent Protests

August 4, 2011

Tent city in Tel Aviv I’m not quite sure what to think of the tent protests that have taken over the country in recent weeks. On the one hand, the rising costs that have plagued Israel in recent years have hit our family quite personally. On the other, I remember the days before Israel’s so-called […]

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Aviv’s Nepal Blog Part 2 Now Online

August 1, 2011

Just a quick announcement that the second part of Aviv’s amazing online diary of our trip to Nepal and India is now available for your reading pleasure. Please take a peek and be sure to leave a comment – it’s great feedback for Aviv as he nurtures his budding writing career! Here’s the link.

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Aviv’s Bar Mitzvah Blog Chronicles our Trip to Nepal

July 28, 2011

Tiyul #13 – at Rusape Falls in Nepal This week, instead of my usual post, I’d like to point your attention to Aviv’s bar mitvah blog. You may have already been reading it – in the year leading up to his bar mitzvah, we undertook 12 tiyulim (hikes) all over Israel and Aviv blogged about […]

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The View from Inside

July 20, 2011

From Broadside.net How often do you turn to your doctor and say – please give me a very unpleasant and painful procedure? But that’s pretty much the drill as we hover around the age of 50 and ask our family physicians to schedule a colonoscopy. The health funds recommend that everyone 50 and up get […]

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Modern Minimalist Train Brings Steve Reich’s Music to Jerusalem

July 11, 2011

Steve Reich’s Different Trains rumbled into town this past week and the results were stunning – one of the must-see concerts of an already overflowing Jerusalem summer. Reich is the godfather of the modern minimalist music scene, patron saint to more art/pop-oriented artists like Phillip Glass and Brian Eno. His compositions are highly repetitive: the […]

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