tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191695952012-01-28T16:59:26.388+02:00Perspectives on what is happening in Israel from a family living in a very newsworthy part of the world.westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.comBlogger4111100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-56079254065810121682007-02-07T11:10:00.000+02:002007-02-07T11:14:57.750+02:00

Westbankmama is telling Google to toss their cookies.....I have moved over to wordpress, and my new address is westbankmama.wordpress.com.It may take me a bit of time to start blogging as often as I used to, but I hope to get up to speed soon. Thanks for your patience.

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com187tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-72002138084462165872007-01-31T09:47:00.000+02:002007-01-31T09:50:52.662+02:00

Ok, I gave in. They made me switch to the new blogger. I absolutely HATE the idea of supporting Google in any way, but on the other hand, I did not want to switch to another hosting service, because I simply do not have the time to learn a new way of doing things (I am the ultimate un-geek).So I gave in.

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com166tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1169922898603534342007-01-29T08:26:00.000+02:002007-01-28T17:48:01.626+02:00

There are two great articles in the Jerusalem Post web edition - neither one should be missed.The first is about new memoirs of Rabbis who survived the Holocaust. It is unusual in that the information is taken from the prefaces of books on halacha (Jewish law) that these rabbis wrote. The actual text of the book does not contain personal information, but the introductions are rich with inspiring

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com169tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1169919534981349862007-01-28T07:28:00.000+02:002007-01-27T19:47:16.906+02:00

I write about a lot of things on my blog. Some things could be applicable to anyone, anywhere - stuff about my kids, or my relationship with my husband, for example. Sometimes I write about Israeli politics, or about my life as an Orthodox Jew.Once in a while I write a post that only people who live in Judea or Samaria can relate to. This is one of them.We have a weekly newsletter which comes out

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com176tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1169796903286645332007-01-26T09:28:00.000+02:002007-01-26T10:16:17.863+02:00

Well, it's still January, for the next few days, so I thought that I would continue to introduce some of the lesser known blogs from my blogroll (with apologies in advance that I don't have enough time to get to all of them....).A lot of the bloggers that I read are more or less like me - and if you put us all in a room together you could probably not tell us apart.Then again, I read people who

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com172tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1169651443576933242007-01-25T07:04:00.000+02:002007-01-25T07:41:32.166+02:00

I just read this post at BokertovBoulder and it is chilling. Members of a tiny Jewish community in a village in Yemen were threatened and forced to flee their homes. Anne also points out that this story has not been picked up by AP or Reuters (I guess threatening Jews is not news, huh?)It seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same. I just wish the Jews there would move to

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1169616838634895222007-01-24T07:25:00.000+02:002007-01-24T07:38:44.526+02:00

January is a big month for the flu here in Israel, even if the weather is relatively mild. I know of a lot of people who have been sick, and the hospitals are full.The other day I started to feel very tired, my nose started to run, and I had that tell-tale slight ache in my muscles that signals that I am coming down with something.I said to myself that there was no way I could call in sick to

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1169398437708850002007-01-22T07:46:00.000+02:002007-01-22T08:43:09.763+02:00

I love living in Israel, but there are some things that drive me crazy about this country. Although it has improved over the years, and some businesses have changed their attitude, in general most Israeli businesses put customer service way down on their priority list. If in America the prevailing wisdom is "the customer is always right", in Israel it is all too frequently the opposite.Last week

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1169364187233733312007-01-21T09:20:00.000+02:002007-01-21T09:46:36.190+02:00

Ok, I've caught up with some of my blog reading, and it seems that the JIBs are being put off until May, and that the Jblogosphere blog will host them. You can read up about it here, and give in your ideas in the comments section. I would just like to say "Kol HaKavod" to those who are working on this!So, in the meantime, it has been declared that January is Jewish Blog Awareness Month (thanks to

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1169192728159568762007-01-19T09:32:00.000+02:002007-01-19T09:47:27.293+02:00

For all of you out there who have wondered who westbankmama is in "real life", now is your chance. Go on over to Shabbat Shalom, an OU website, which has reprinted a post of mine, and read the bio at the end. There are some other good articles there too.I started my job this week (there were some technical problems so I couldn't start on January 1st as originally planned). Thank G-d the people

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1169042928999081052007-01-17T16:00:00.000+02:002007-01-17T16:08:49.053+02:00

There are many different excuses for not blogging. (Dogs not involved, though).New jobs, guests coming for Shabbat, a kid with a broken tooth, etc., etc....I could use all of the above as my excuse, but my real reason is a lot simpler.Our yishuv (and the next one over) did not have internet access for the past two days. That's right folks, two days without e-mail or blogs to read (and I am living

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1168790735779304052007-01-14T17:58:00.000+02:002007-01-14T18:05:35.840+02:00

Soccerdad hosts another great edition of Havel-Havalim this week - number 102, in fact.Check out new blogger wingslikeadove, a courageous woman who writes about her struggle with depression. She finds comfort in her book of Psalms.I also enjoyed Yisrael's post at MyRightWord about his correspondence with a radical leftist.

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1168768594491135072007-01-14T11:42:00.000+02:002007-01-14T12:31:01.976+02:00

The cliche "opposites attract" certainly applies in my marriage. I am rather shy, although I do warm up to people a lot faster than I used to.Westbankpapa doesn't have a shy bone in his body (and one of the westbankkids takes after him in this respect). This manifests itself in many ways. One of them is my husband's total lack of inhibition when it comes to singing. Granted, he has a wonderful

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1168588524958848172007-01-12T09:53:00.000+02:002007-01-12T10:04:11.503+02:00

For those of you who read my previous post quoting Treppenwitz about pinging, I did an experiment with my own blog. I wrote posts as usual, and I waited to see if the change I made in the Blogger settings would reach blogrolling by itself.It didn't. I just checked David's blog, and when putting the cursor over my blog's name it shows that I supposedly haven't updated it since Monday.Lesson

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1168439502669173942007-01-11T08:22:00.000+02:002007-01-11T07:04:24.193+02:00

Machsom Watch, the closest thing Israel has to the Church Lady (just replace religion with secular, leftist feminism and replace "Satan" with "occupation") is trying to expand their operations.It seems that demonizing soldiers who are risking their lives to protect Israeli citizens by manning the checkpoints isn't enough.Now they want to bother the security personnel at the airport. You know, the

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1168413579964352022007-01-10T09:05:00.000+02:002007-01-10T09:19:40.043+02:00

I usually concentrate on local Israeli news and family events for this blog. I am grateful for other bloggers who are interested in more far-ranging things, so that I stay informed.Michael Totten takes a trip to south Lebanon, six months after the war there. His account is chilling - the "watchers" on the roads spying on who travels in and around Hizballah held territory remind me how wonderful

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1168325006814299302007-01-09T08:39:00.000+02:002007-01-09T09:42:59.933+02:00

Haaretz has an article this morning about the increase in numbers of draft deferrments by national religious young men, who are deciding to study in what we call "yeshiva gavoha" versus in "yeshivat hesder". Haaretz uses the term "Ultra-Orthodox" to describe the former, although this is not really accurate in this particular context. What this means practically, is that there will be less men who

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1168155775671759132007-01-08T08:34:00.000+02:002007-01-08T08:26:36.246+02:00

For those readers of mine who do not read Solomonia, I urge you to do so. His blog is pro-Israel and covers both the national scene and the what happens in the New England area.He has covered the entire controversy surrounding the visit of "Wheels of Justice", a radical left, pro-Palestinian group to Andover High School, which, despite protests, occurred this past weekend.This group was

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1168190438128846152007-01-07T19:13:00.000+02:002007-01-07T19:20:38.206+02:00

You know, sometimes those phrases that your grandmother used to say come in handy. I couldn't help but think of the one that my bubbe said frequently "from your mouth to G-d's ear", when I read in Ynetnews.com about the big Fatah rally.It seems that Dahlan, boasting about how he wasn't afraid of Hamas, stated to the crowd, "Let Hamas shoot me".Let's see if he gets his wish.

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1168151280222201672007-01-07T08:09:00.000+02:002007-01-07T08:44:36.536+02:00

Westbankpapa and I did something on Friday morning that we haven't done for years. We went to the open air fruit and vegetable market (what Israelis call the "shuk") in Petach Tikva.We were lucky to miss most of the rain, and the crowds were relatively thin, which made it more pleasant for me anyway. I get a bit claustrophobic in huge crowds, and in the summer on a Friday morning the shuk can be

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1167838097992052492007-01-04T10:21:00.000+02:002007-01-04T11:05:11.486+02:00

Some quick links for a busy Thursday morning:The good, Jameel has a story about a heroic New Yorker....The bad, Erica tells about her "terrorist tutor" (really!)....The ugly, Rafi at Lifeinisrael tells about another ugly incident concerning R. Nosson Slifkin.The stubborn, as Tali Fahima tells reporters after being released from prison, "I don't regret anything".The pathetic, as Ynetnews.com

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1167733338022187172007-01-03T08:11:00.000+02:002007-01-03T08:13:50.186+02:00

This post is for those of us who write blogs but are, shall we say, "geekingly challenged". The rest of you can just scroll by...Treppenwitz has an interesting post about "pinging" (is that a real verb?). It seems that some blogrolls can change according to when the blogs contained in them have been updated, (putting the most recently updated blog at the top)and notifying the various sites that

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1167719503385517952007-01-02T08:27:00.000+02:002007-01-02T08:34:19.280+02:00

I just went over to Bagelblogger to check out Haveil-Havalim #100. He did a fantastic job! It is worth it just for the fake New York Times headline, but there is also the usual wide variety of Jewish blog posts and a whole section of "memory lane" posts - great blasts from the past.Definitely worth a look folks. (It takes a minute or two to load, just be patient).

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1167718369771886922007-01-02T07:58:00.000+02:002007-01-02T08:12:49.813+02:00

I don't know about anyone else, but I definitely feel that this country has entered a period of the doldrums. I barely glance at the news nowadays, because it just repeats itself over and over.Violence in Gaza between Fatah and Hamas, meaningless pronouncements by the Arabs that Gilad Shalit will be released in lieu of thousands of prisoners released, Olmert anouncing that he will release

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1167587742889933162007-01-01T09:48:00.000+02:002007-01-01T09:41:36.480+02:00

Last night was New Year's Eve. For some strange reason Israelis call it "Sylvester". I have lived here for years, and I have asked quite of few Israelis, both religious and non-religious, about this strange name, and I haven't received a decent answer. (Whenever I hear this name, though, I can't help but imagine a huge costume party with hundreds of people dressed as black and white cats,

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1167547551390344692006-12-31T08:35:00.000+02:002006-12-31T08:53:50.836+02:00

Yesterday's news that they have executed Saddam Hussein gave most people in Israel a sense of satisfaction, even if the left-wing media tries to see the negative side of it. The "pc" politicians are being low-key, but the man on the street here is happy. It wasn't that long ago that we had to worry about sealed rooms and gas masks. (We made aliyah just a few months after the end of the first Gulf

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1167377676993545632006-12-30T21:22:00.000+02:002006-12-31T09:07:17.880+02:00

Ezzie has an excellent roundup of the latest controversy in the JBlogosphere, about plagiarism. He links to many good posts, and has his own take on the situation.I agree with Ezzie completely. There is no place for this kind of behavior - it is just plain wrong.Many people who want to defend DovBear have made the claim that "he just plagiarized a little" or "people are taking blogging way too

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1167284541671225702006-12-28T07:34:00.000+02:002006-12-28T08:03:36.306+02:00

All of us grow up in a certain environment, and take things for granted. The language that our parents use become ours, the foods that we are served train our palates in a specific way, and the weather is usually nothing more than the backdrop to our daily lives.I grew up in upstate New York, in a place where it would start snowing in late November and continue through March. I remember being

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1167208480483905532006-12-27T10:32:00.000+02:002006-12-27T10:58:46.166+02:00

Two teenagers were hit by Kassam rockets yesterday in Sderot. One, aged 13, was taken to the hospital on the brink of death, and it was only by the heroic efforts of the doctors there that he is now "just" in critical condition.The IDF is demanding that Olmert let them go in after the rocket launchers in Gaza. This morning he gave approval for "pinpoint" attacks, whatever that means.It seems that

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1167142598142422962006-12-26T16:12:00.000+02:002006-12-26T18:38:24.170+02:00

Imagine the scenario. A homocidal maniac in a far-away country is planning the destruction of the Jews, while he is being met with nothing more than appeasement. The Arabs are involved in terrorist activities against the Jews, but their own casualties are double in number because of internecine battles and revenge-taking. There is heated debate whether to show restraint in reaction to the

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1166946732515951782006-12-24T09:41:00.000+02:002006-12-24T09:52:12.550+02:00

I think most Jews are familiar with the phrase "rak b'Smachot" - "only at simchas", referring to our wish to be able to see our family and friends only at happy events. Even my parents, whose connection to Yiddishkeit was somewhat tenuous, would use this phrase when saying goodbye after a family celebration, or unfortunately, a funeral.I thought of this phrase because Chanukah time is one of the

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1166595708297389902006-12-21T20:18:00.000+02:002006-12-21T16:10:08.550+02:00

Batya has another great roundup of delicious kosher recipes here. (As if we needed another excuse to eat this week...)Check it out!

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1166593857063904882006-12-20T07:39:00.000+02:002006-12-20T08:01:37.476+02:00

Yesterday I received the phone call informing me that I got the job I interviewed for this Sunday. I need to go in one day next week to learn a few things, and then I start officially on January first.I am looking forward to this very much. The job is with a small but growing business in a nearby yishuv, and they need me to take care of their English speaking customers in America (and soon to be

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1166511630911996762006-12-19T08:53:00.000+02:002006-12-19T09:09:13.273+02:00

Last night there was a gun battle in Gaza between Fatah and Hamas. This is despite the so-called "ceasefire" that is supposedly still holding (!).The "interesting" part of this is that this shootout took place in the hospital grounds. (I guess it saves money on ambulances.)What next, a gun battle in a schoolyard?Oh, I forgot, they already did that last week.

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1166420335392217822006-12-18T07:34:00.000+02:002006-12-18T07:38:55.430+02:00

Those persistent archeologists have found the elusive Havel-Havalim 98. The whole entertaining story is at Jerusalemgames. Check it out!

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1166363944334094672006-12-17T15:53:00.000+02:002006-12-17T15:59:04.386+02:00

I had my job interview this morning, and it went rather well I think. The person who would be my boss seemed rather pleasant, and I think I made a good impression. He said that he would let me know later in the week.It took me a long time to unwind after this, and my husband can't figure this out. "How terrible can it be to sit down and talk about yourself?" he asked.Different planets for

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1166171123425519162006-12-15T10:10:00.000+02:002006-12-15T10:25:23.463+02:00

I read an interesting article in ShabbatShalom, an OU website, by a woman who resents Madison Avenue trying to make Chanukah as commercialized as X-mas.I completely agree with her. As a matter of fact, it was one of the reasons that I wanted to make aliyah in the first place. Here even the non-religious know that the most important holidays in the year are Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, followed by

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1166085290418804342006-12-14T10:21:00.000+02:002006-12-14T10:34:50.536+02:00

I had a nightmare last night. It involved various crazy things centering around an interview that I am scheduled to have on Sunday for a part-time job.I am a naturally shy person, who would rather write than speak in most cases. When westbankpapa and I were first going out, and we reached that delicate stage in the relationship where you either open up or say goodbye, I resorted to writing him a

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1165989946852460462006-12-13T07:58:00.000+02:002006-12-13T08:40:28.340+02:00

One of westbankpapa's volunteer activities is acting as one of our yishuv's official spokesmen. He handles both Hebrew and English speaking groups, and is called upon to deal with reporters, tourist groups, and Israeli officials when they need a guided tour of our little village or some information about an incident that happened in our area.We are sometimes asked to host people for a meal in our

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1165908738139294092006-12-12T09:26:00.000+02:002006-12-12T09:32:18.200+02:00

How many posts have you read about the Kolko case? How many of them had something practical to say?I can't recall the exact number for the first question, but I can say that so far I've only read one that fits the second. Sepharadilady has an excellent post here.As usual, it is the inimitable Ezzie who points the way to great posts. What would we do without him?

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1165829000974867062006-12-11T11:19:00.000+02:002006-12-11T11:50:18.460+02:00

You know the feeling when you read a news article and the hairs on the back of your neck start to rise, and you start hearing "Red Alert" alarms going off?That is what happened to me when reading this article in Haaretz this morning. The IDF seems to be backing off of a report made yesterday in the security cabinet meeting about Syria preparing for war with Israel.According to the article, the

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1165823121729736422006-12-11T09:43:00.000+02:002006-12-11T09:56:18.336+02:00

For years I have been reading Littlegreenfootballs and other pro-Israel blogs. Many times they have included important information from Memri (Middle East Media Research Institute), who translate articles and video clips from Arabic and Persian into English.This information is literally not available anywhere else. For years the Arabs would say one thing to western audiences, while saying the

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1165820795112628152006-12-11T09:02:00.000+02:002006-12-11T09:06:35.166+02:00

I went over to Jack's place to read Haveil-Havalim #97, and I was surprised and pleased to see that some more JBloggers are up for awards. In addition to Treppenwitz and ElderofZiyon, Dry Bones is up for best comic strip, and Jack himself is also in the running.Go on over for some good reading, and while you are at it, vote. Voting is open for about another week.

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1165683001105322512006-12-10T07:47:00.000+02:002006-12-10T07:34:26.463+02:00

MinorFastDays has tagged me with this meme. I've seen it around on a few blogs, and I've decided to add some Jewish/Israeli things at the top. (Letters a - z, 1-150 are the same as on other blogs). (My answers in bold.)a. Danced joyously in the streets of Jerusalem for Unification Day.b. Gone to a funeral of someone killed by a terrorist.c. Volunteered in Israel during a war.d. Learned a second

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1165499654023676232006-12-08T08:46:00.000+02:002006-12-08T08:16:42.836+02:00

You never know, do you? That's the best part of surfing the net, and bopping around from one blog to another. Here are just a few of the things I found in the past few days:I clicked on a button (graphic) called Moms For Modesty on Me-anders blog, and I found a post by a Christian woman who is against the very provocative clothing sold for young girls. Read her post, and if you agree with her,

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1165478847221579482006-12-07T09:57:00.000+02:002006-12-07T10:13:32.423+02:00

[This is a teaser folks...]Right before my one year blogiversary, I went through all of my postings in order to add a few that I really liked to my sidebar. I discovered in this overview, that all in all, there were maybe one or two posts that I would regret signing my real name to, (and I'm not telling which ones...) but that all of the others were fine.I started to think seriously about "going

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1165399948947713872006-12-06T12:04:00.000+02:002006-12-07T10:52:06.380+02:00

I read a disturbing, though not surprising, article in Haaretz about a declaration by the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee. (I am not familiar with this group). Numbering eight chapters, and financed by the United Nations Development Program, it contains a number of serious demands.Just some of the "gems":The chapter about relations with the state does not say that Israeli Arabs recognize

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1165389626035987662006-12-06T09:18:00.000+02:002006-12-06T09:32:24.386+02:00

I couldn't resist publishing this "only in Israel" story that I received in an e-mail from Debbie Wechsler. Even though is too late for my roundup, I think it is a great story...."I know it is waaaaaaaay too late for a 'only in Israel' story but none came to mind around the time of your deadline (even though I have lived here for over 30 years - and experienced many such moments)Until last night

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1165314530456162332006-12-05T12:21:00.000+02:002006-12-05T12:57:42.093+02:00

Perhaps it is a cliche, but I think that most parents try to give their kids a better life than they themselves had. This shows itself in the big things, but it can be seen in the smaller things also.I remember my mother, aleha haShalom (may she rest in peace) saying to me once that she used to be deathly afraid of bugs. She didn't want to communicate this fear to us, though, and she would force

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1165229926887553882006-12-04T12:55:00.000+02:002006-12-04T12:58:46.923+02:00

A recent addition to my blogroll is the blog Beyond Teshuva. I enjoy it very much, and every once in a while it has a post that is just right on the money.Today I found one of these. Rabbi Yonason Goldson has written about how hard it is to be in "the middle" as an Orthodox Jew, and how easy it is to look down at others who you think are "fanatics".Worth a stop.

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1165212768467667012006-12-04T08:08:00.000+02:002006-12-04T08:12:48.503+02:00

Soccerdad has done another great job in hosting this week's Haveil-Havalim. I especiall enjoyed Shoshana's discussion of the terms "frum" and "religious", and I really like the interview that JewishBlogmeister did with everyone's favorite, Ezzie.

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1165127264269963282006-12-03T08:01:00.000+02:002006-12-03T08:44:57.216+02:00

Here is an article for all of you who oppose the mixing of politics and religion. No, it is not about the religious parties trying to pass a law to protect the traditions followed by the Jewish people, it is about a secular politician trying to meddle in religious affairs.Yossi Beilin is trying to propose legislation that will change Israel's official policy on who is a Jew. I can't think of a

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1164872616217341582006-11-30T09:25:00.000+02:002006-11-30T13:06:34.100+02:00

Chayei Sarah wrote a post yesterday criticizing the settler movement, and unwittingly furthered another myth. To give her credit, she made this mistake because she listened to a panel discussion by some Dati Leumi rabbis, and she read my post about the Bnei Akiva snif and the paintings by some of the groups.The myth that she furthered is that we right wing settlers only care about holding on to

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1164717610153714552006-11-29T19:17:00.000+02:002006-11-29T07:14:59.800+02:00

[Please note: this post was written with both the approval and encouragement of my husband.]Westbankpapa has unfortunately been laid off from his hi-tech job, and although he has had a good interview or two he is still signing up at the unemployment office, and spending a lot of time at home. (Readers who want details and have possible leads can email me). Since I work part-time from home our

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1164701044639826732006-11-28T15:53:00.000+02:002006-11-28T15:09:53.690+02:00

I grew up in upstate New York, and besides enjoying the fall foliage, (which I miss to this day living here in Israel) I have fond memories of apple picking (which I did once in the Golan Heights).For nostalgia's sake during the winter months, when I am tired of baking, I usually make this apple dessert as an alternative to cake.Apple Dessert10 medium sized apples1 tablespoon cinnamon3

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1164691451575220372006-11-28T07:17:00.000+02:002006-11-28T07:26:28.316+02:00

If you have lived in Israel for more than a few months, you have no doubt noticed a troubling social problem. It seems that there is a significant number of secular Israelis who hate the Orthodox (if you doubt me, just read some of the talkbacks to articles featuring the Orthodox).Having been born into a non-religious home, and becoming a ba'al teshuva myself, I have found this very perplexing,

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1164550049597468022006-11-27T09:50:00.000+02:002006-11-27T09:46:10.156+02:00

Every year those of us with children in Bnei Akiva (from fourth grade to12th) endure - um, I mean enjoy what is called Shabbat Irgun. This day sums up a month of work by the kids to get geared up for the year. They have "morale sessions" (basically singing at the top of their lungs about how great their group is), they prepare a skit for the Motzei Shabbat extravaganza, and they scrape off the

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1164613198064423982006-11-27T09:35:00.000+02:002006-11-27T09:43:12.766+02:00

Smoothstone (soon to appear on my blogroll) has done a superb job on Haveil-Havalim this week. I am always looking for new blogs to read, and guess what - I found some! I especially enjoyed reading Shifting the Paradigm.Check them both out!

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1164535125484421012006-11-26T11:58:00.000+02:002006-11-26T12:01:13.143+02:00

Batya at Shiloh Musings has the answer - go on over and read it! Shiloh Musings: The Crucial Difference

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1164474452429213032006-11-25T22:28:00.000+02:002006-11-26T08:23:46.066+02:00

[This post was "inspired" by a short piece I read in the newspaper on Friday about a 57 year old woman, mother of nine, who is the oldest suicide bomber on record in Israel. Sent by Hamas, she tried to blow herself up near some IDF soldiers in Gaza. Tipped off by intelligence, they threw a grenade at her and she exploded. Every time I thought of this I had a curious reaction. I would at first

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1164356712695944562006-11-24T10:20:00.000+02:002006-11-24T10:25:12.730+02:00

I don't know about you, but our home e-mail address is constantly inundated by irrelevant (can you say "spam") e-mails. I was wondering if the number that I receive is normal or abnormal.During a roughly 24 hour period we received 241 emails altogether. Some were from email lists that we signed up for (and I am regretting), a few were from people on my yishuv, and one or two were from friends. I

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1164199003027605272006-11-22T07:30:00.000+02:002006-11-23T07:44:23.856+02:00

I couldn't take the bad news anymore, and in the spirit of Thanksgiving I decided to look for some positive things to blog about. I came across this heartwarming article about the arrival of some of the Bnei Menashe here in Israel.For those of you who don't know, this is a group of people who trace their ancestors back to the lost tribe of Menashe, who were exiled 27 centuries ago by the

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1164173434378136372006-11-22T07:19:00.000+02:002006-11-22T07:30:34.433+02:00

I have a love-hate relationship with the internet lately. I love reading my favorite blogs, and I hate reading the news.Another Kassam rocket attack killed someone from Sderot yesterday. Yaakov Yaacobov died last night in the hospital after sustaining wounds from the rocket which fell on the chicken packing plant where he worked. Hear that world, a citizen, 43 years of age, is working in a

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1164125504762877262006-11-21T18:09:00.000+02:002006-11-21T18:11:44.763+02:00

Haveil-Havalim that is. Gail has it on Crossingtherubicon3. Go on over and check it out.

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1163589732122235332006-11-20T18:05:00.000+02:002006-11-20T17:01:23.826+02:00

For my one year blogiversary I treated myself to one of my favorite things - "only in Israel" stories. Not only do I enjoy reading them, but even though not all of them are positive, in general they give me chizuk (strength) for the inevitable times when living in Israel is not a bed of roses.I am presenting them in no particular order, just as I received them.First to respond was Yaakov at

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1163947540311028462006-11-19T16:41:00.000+02:002006-11-19T16:56:23.233+02:00

Jack put out a call last week for your favorite posts. His roundup is here, and I must say that I enjoyed them all. Some were thought provoking and sad at the same time, like Irina's post and Sara's poem. Some were just thought provoking, like Psychotoddlers. And I really liked SeraphicSecret's nostalgic look back at his childhood reading material.Go on over and read - and submit some of yours

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1163914588170371522006-11-19T07:26:00.000+02:002006-11-19T07:56:21.056+02:00

This is mind boggling. Every time I read about what is going on in Gaza I am continually surprised and disgusted. This Haaretz article reports about an abandoned IDF raid on a house in Gaza. They warned the resident of the place to leave, and were planning to hit it - because it is known as a weapons storage facility. Someone "called out the troops" as it were - and groups of Palestinian

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1163672579792772722006-11-16T12:18:00.000+02:002006-11-16T12:24:59.366+02:00

Don't be the last on your block to send me an "only in Israel" story for my roundup. Deadline is Sunday evening (Monday morning my time).And while you are at it, why don't you send in your favorite post to Jack. He is compiling a greatest hits post - why not join in?You can always take the time to send in a kosher recipe to Batya for the Kosher Cooking Carnival...Did I mention that Gail at

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1163654903536445142006-11-16T07:21:00.000+02:002006-11-16T08:02:14.466+02:00

[As I am writing this post the radio is on in the background. Another Red Dawn warning is being broadcast in Sderot. My children are going out the door to school, not worried that they might be killed on the way. I can't say the same for those in the south.]The people of Sderot have had it up to here with the empty promises of politicians. The IDF have refused to go in to Gaza in a major

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1163574763851622072006-11-15T09:03:00.000+02:002006-11-15T17:38:32.923+02:00

Another barrage of rockets fell in Sderot this morning - and this time the miracles ran out. A woman has been killed, another person is in critical condition, and others are wounded lightly. This does not include the many who are suffering from shock.We all know how apesh*t the world went when the IDF fired, by mistake, and killed Palestinian civilians in Beit Hanoun while targeting terrorists.

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1163487846328534522006-11-14T08:52:00.000+02:002006-11-14T10:43:02.816+02:00

There is a weekly newsletter put out in my settlement every Thursday evening. The front page contains a dvar Torah. The back page contains the times for the various prayer services and Torah lectures for the coming week, announcements of births, engagements, weddings, and unfortunately deaths. Upcoming cultural activities are announced here too, and small advertisements are published.That leaves

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1163429003682998472006-11-13T16:32:00.000+02:002006-11-13T16:44:43.753+02:00

I came across the blog Beyond Teshuva through Ezzie of Serandez. Here is a place where those of us who have come back to observant Judaism can read posts from others who have travelled the same way. Their "About Us" description says it all: "Beyond Teshuva is focussed on providing ideas, connection, and support for Baalei Teshuva in their continuing quest of learning, growing, and giving."I

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1163394340687603562006-11-13T07:03:00.000+02:002006-11-13T10:21:38.953+02:00

Soccerdad has another great roundup of posts from the Jewish blogosphere. Go on over to the 93rd edition of Haveil-Havalim and sample....

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1163355788183805062006-11-12T20:09:00.000+02:002006-11-12T20:45:19.780+02:00

Only in Israel - Strawberry Fields Edition(This is my humble example of an "only in Israel" story that I want to link to next week to celebrate my one year blogiversary.)Israel excels in both its agricultural produce and its hi-tech industries. What is surprising is in what close proximity these two industries are to each other.Westbankpapa learned this personally when he took a slightly

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1163048362889171932006-11-09T06:55:00.000+02:002006-11-09T06:59:22.966+02:00

Just Some Quick Blog BusinessI am off today to my workshop (see post below) so this will just be a quick reminder about my call for posts. On Rosh Chodesh Kislev (November 21) I will celebrate my one year blogiversary. I wanted to post links to "only in Israel stories". If you want to participate, just send me your link by November 19th.G-d willing I will post my own next week to get the ball

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1162832567052712822006-11-08T20:40:00.000+02:002006-11-08T08:33:57.483+02:00

L'HavdilL'havdil literally means "to separate" in Hebrew. The ritual ceremony separating between the Sabbath and the rest of the week is called havdala."L'havdil" (sometimes magnified with the additional "elef havdalos" - "one thousand differences") is used as a phrase by religious Jews to make a verbal transition from two completely different topics, usually when one is about mundane things and

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1162877311232538762006-11-07T07:19:00.000+02:002006-11-07T07:28:31.263+02:00

Equal Pay for Equal Work - And Equal DangersYnetnews.com reports this morning that a women's terror cell has been busted. The IDF arrested six women working for Islamic Jihad who were primarily involved in transfering funds.They said that they received $100 for each money transfer they accomplished. (Is that the going rate or are they being shortchanged? Maybe Shelly Ichimovitz can look into this

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1162482636520592322006-11-06T07:26:00.000+02:002006-11-06T07:16:24.046+02:00

Why Don't We Know Their Stories?I grew up in a city in upstate New York where there was a small Jewish community. Of these Jews, I would say at least 90% (if not more) were of Ashkenazi descent. I knew of only two families that were not - one originally from Egypt, and one originally from Morocco.The Egyptian family (I was so small that I don't recall family names) were the only other Jews in the

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1162789853374802762006-11-06T07:07:00.000+02:002006-11-06T07:10:53.430+02:00

Haveil-Havalim And Some Brand New GamesHaveil-Havalim is being hosted this week by a blogger that is completely new to me, Yehuda at Jerusalem Games. His blog is mostly about board games for adults - thankfully not involving trivia. Go on over and enjoy!

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1162713667535122582006-11-05T09:52:00.000+02:002006-11-05T10:01:07.570+02:00

Topics That I Won't Touch With a Ten Foot PoleEach blogger has their own style and range of interests. Some write about personal stuff, some write about political stuff, and most of us combine the two.I write about a lot of things, but there are some topics which I avoid like the plague. The controversy surrounding Yitzchak Rabin's murder is one of them.This doesn't prevent me from linking to

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1162531934751280262006-11-03T07:23:00.000+02:002006-11-05T11:35:19.023+02:00

You Can Run But You Can't Hide - Even In A MosqueThe IDF is continuing its intensive operation in Gaza, going after the terrorists there. Last night at least 60 of them tried to hide in a mosque in order to escape from the soldiers, thinking that it would provide a shelter for them. This of course did not prevent them from shooting from there at the soldiers. IDF snipers were able to shoot at

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1162401081176920402006-11-02T06:57:00.000+02:002006-11-02T07:28:56.940+02:00

What Do You Remember Today?Today is the eleventh day of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan, and is the anniversary of a number of sad things.The most widely known in the religious Jewish world is the yahrzeit (Yiddish for day of death) of Rachel Imeinu (our matriarch Rachel). Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin, and was buried by Jacob in Beit Lechem. More on the ancient and modern history of Rachel's

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1162364730734104872006-11-01T08:53:00.000+02:002006-11-01T17:33:08.873+02:00

We Cannot Afford a Wimpy Defense MinisterThings are heating up in Gaza. The IDF went in last night to start a large operation there, the largest one since Gilad Shalit was kidnapped. So far they have killed four and wounded at least 11 other terrorists. The operation is said to be to prevent Kassam launchings (yes, they are still launching rockets at Sderot and the western Negev) and to uncover

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1162298222823032752006-10-31T14:27:00.000+02:002006-10-31T14:37:02.866+02:00

The IAF Version of Indian SummerIndian summer is the term used to describe a day or two of summer weather after the first cold snap has arrived. Today we are experiencing this in Israel - both literally by the actual temperatures, and figuratively by the Israel Air Force.We've had two stormy periods of weather with a lot of rain - something unusual for this early in our winter season. Usually the

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1162210302700434302006-10-30T14:09:00.000+02:002006-10-30T14:11:42.736+02:00

A Very Sweet Haveil-HavalimHaveil-Havalim #91 is being hosted this week at Sweetrose. Go on over and "smell the roses".

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1161586753816960242006-10-29T11:45:00.000+02:002006-10-29T14:16:04.700+02:00

Following the Letter of the LawI've written before about what started me on my journey to observant Judaism, and I've been thinking lately of another incident (pothole?) on this long road of mine.My brother decided to become observant also, and we both attended Yeshiva University. At some point in our learning of the various halachot (Jewish laws) we realized that the upcoming holiday of Pesach (

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1161756425260827522006-10-25T07:55:00.000+02:002006-10-25T08:07:05.353+02:00

What Didn't Happen This Past MonthThe Jewish people have recently finished the month of Tishrei, which is the most holiday dense month of the year. Rosh HaShana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Simchat Torah filled our days with prayer, feasting and trips. Here in Israel that meant quite a lot of people traveling to relatives and doing day trips on the intermediate days of the holidays. The crowds were so

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1161682219594345132006-10-24T11:23:00.000+02:002006-10-24T13:08:10.600+02:00

Another Anniversary Coming UpYes, it is almost that time. No, not my wedding anniversary. No, not my aliyah anniversary. Have you guessed yet?You are right! November 21st (which is Rosh Chodesh Kislev this year) will mark one year of blogging. To celebrate, I decided to put out a call for posts - this time about "only in Israel stories". Everyone who has either lived, studied, or taken a tour in

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1161585485782978552006-10-23T08:33:00.000+02:002006-10-23T12:21:37.826+02:00

Carnivals and Such....Batya has posted the 11th edition of the Kosher Cooking Carnival here. There is some mouthwatering stuff there - definitely worth a look.Soccerdad hosts Havel-Havelim this week - despite his cute little daughter's attempts to distract him. I really have to add some more blogs to my favorites list....Over at Serandez a guest poster, MordyS writes about how important those "

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1161503474016224622006-10-22T09:41:00.000+02:002006-10-22T11:07:50.510+02:00

New Moon, New Beginnings, and a Reason to CelebrateToday is the first day of the Hebrew month of Cheshvan, and tonight we see the new moon appear. The Jewish calendar is mainly a lunar one, although we do add a month every few years in order to coordinate with the solar calendar so that our holidays always come out at roughly the same time of year (in contrast to the Muslims whose calendar is

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1161252010911170792006-10-20T11:41:00.000+02:002006-10-20T10:50:38.670+02:00

A Different Thanksgiving FeastThanksgiving happens at the end of November in America, but in our settlement a different kind of thanksgiving feast happened last night.Twenty-five men from our yishuv serving in the IDF, in the regular forces and in the reserves, received a Tzav 8 (call-up) during the Lebanon war this summer. Some went down to Gaza, some served in Judea and Samaria, but the

westbankmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07175250198028829889noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19169595.post-1161152810695139412006-10-18T07:53:00.000+02:002006-10-18T08:46:44.096+02:00

Restore Joseph's TombMichael Freund wrote an excellent piece in the Jerusalem Post called "Restore Joseph's Tomb". In it he details the history of how the tomb was destroyed by the Arabs in October 2000, and how a Druse soldier was left to bleed to death there a few days earlier when the then Prime Minister Ehud Barak trusted the Palestinian authority to go in and evacuate him. The army

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Elections on the Other Side of the PondCarl at Israelmatzav has a great roundup of how the mid-term elections in America are affecting (or being affected by) the Jewish community.I've been keeping up a bit by reading Pajamas Media. I think the balance of power in Congress definitely affects Israel, and if you care about Israel it should affect how you vote for your congressman.I am also a bit

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Once Upon A Time....David (aka Treppenwitz) wrote recently about how he and Zahava met, and I mentioned in the comments section that westbankpappa and I had a somewhat similar story. He then e-mailed me and suggested that I start a "how we met meme". So here goes, for those of you who like this kind of thing (I know I do).Westbankpappa almost met me once, when we were both studying in Israel and

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Batya Was a Busy Lady Over SukkotBatya was busy putting together Havel-Havalim #89 while we were enjoying Sukkot. Now we can catch up on a bunch of great things to read. Go on over and visit.

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Out of the LoopThere were quite a few interesting things in this week's Makor Rishon (the only conservative newspaper in Israel), but I wanted to comment on one particularly.Michal Vosner writes a regular column called "A Woman's Eye" and this week she wrote about her feelings about Simchat Torah (the Jewish holiday marking the end and beginning of the cycle of Torah readings every week). She

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An Open Question About Guest BloggingI don't plan on posting this week (except for this one) because of the Sukkot holiday. But I would like to ask an open question about guest blogging to see if my opinion is shared by others.How do you feel when clicking on a blog and finding a guest blogger there? Are you happy to read someone new while your regular blogger is away for awhile, or is it

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The One Thing I Miss About AmericaSukkot (Feast of Tabernacles/Booths) is the one holiday in the Jewish calendar that is very different for me living in Israel versus how it was in America.We have to build a small hut, according to religious specifications, and spend most of our time for a week in it. Since this holiday always comes out at the end of September/start of October, the differences in

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I'd Really Like to Comment But.....I am a conservative person. I don't like to make changes quickly, and my slogan could very well be "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."I realize though, that in this age of technological advances I am the proverbial stick in the mud. But every once in a while I get proof that my careful ways are the correct ones.In the past few weeks I have come across a number of

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Abbagav Has New Digs....Abbagav has moved to a new blog address, and he is throwing a "blogwarming" by hosting Haveil-Havalim this week.There are lots of good stuff to read - Irina's post here points out a topic close to my heart lately. Go on over and take a look.

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