February 25, 2022 The Western Wall: A chance to preserve history, ensure the future – opinion By Barbara Sofer I always feel inadequate trying to describe to those outside our Jewish tradition the milestone moment a boy puts on tefillin for the first time. The word phylacteries is no help. How do I explain the […]
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February 11, 2022 Should I downsize, or right-size my life? – opinion By Barbara Sofer What’s nagging me is the thought that as a grandmother I’m supposed to be downsizing, not expanding. It starts with a leaky food processor. I can’t remember when we bought ours, a top-of-the line machine that has long served us
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January 28, 2022 They say it takes a village, but even a small group can make a difference By Barbara Sofer Call him Amir. He prefers that I don’t use his real name. You’ll see why. He’s a handsome young man with dark hair and chocolate eyes. Thirty-eight. Single. We’re having tea in a Jerusalem
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December 31, 2021 Mutual responsibility: A story of resilience By Barbara Sofer A perfect day. July 10, 2020. The 18th of Tammuz on the Hebrew calendar, right after the fast for the ancient breaching of the walls of Jerusalem. A perfect day – that’s what Dvir Dimri, 37, is thinking about his family trip to
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December 17, 2021 Farewell, faraway friend By Barbara Sofer This week I learned that a faraway friend Martha died in California. Losing a dear friend is always sorrowful, but the forced distancing during the pandemic exacerbates the pain and helplessness. With the barriers to travel, flying to the US hasn’t felt like an option for
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December 3, 2021 The legacy of Holland’s Jewish cantorial music By Barbara Sofer Among the public gatherings in Holland regretfully canceled this week because of coronavirus is a Hanukkah concert. It was to have been performed in the storied Main Hall of the Royal Concertgebouw, one of the world’s most glorious emporiums of music. The
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November 19, 2021 The Jewish bookshelf of Tiferet Binyamin By Barbara Sofer It started with a bookshelf.Usually when we use the term “Jewish bookshelf,” we mean the compendium of basic texts – Torah, Talmud and Commentaries plus more contemporary books of Jewish thought and philosophy. A typical sentence might be: “We want to introduce newcomers
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November 5, 2021 Experiencing an African safari in Israel By Barbara Sofer She wanted a safari. I recommended the zoo. My friend Susie Handelman told me she was thinking of celebrating both a significant birthday and her recent retirement from an illustrious academic and literary career by joining an African safari. I could hear her
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October 22, 2021 21 years after ‘dying,’ Shimon Ohana celebrates son’s bar mitzvah – opinion By Barbara Sofer I might have forgotten the upcoming anniversary if I hadn’t run into Avi Rivkind in the Zoti Coffee Shop in the Hadassah Ein Kerem mall, where medical staff recharge their caffeine. Twenty-one years this week. The Second Intifada.
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October 8, 2021 Can love (of Israel) conquer all? By Barbara Sofer For decades, I have taken on the jolly job of buying the candy bags for the children who stand under the tallit and say the Torah blessings on Simhat Torah. The palpable and somewhat puzzling excitement of the children, most of whom hail from
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