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Nothing Else?
“So close, no matter how far.” Six notes. Six notes and six words. Six notes repeated in the background throughout the song. The song begins and ends with these notes played on a single acoustic guitar. Those six notes – to me – signify the rhythm of life. The notes are interrupted – as all…
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July 19, 2016: Saved by the Yellow Jerseys
I’ve been doing a lot of mountain biking lately. Usually, I find myself on beautiful, desolate trails and ride up into the hills as the sun sets. (Yes, it does get dark and that can lead to problems, but that’s for another post.) Yesterday morning, for some reason unknown to me at the time, I…
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December 13, 2007: My Mom’s Letter
(Editor’s Note: My mother passed away in 2019) I have decided that were I to try and convey the words my mother just wrote to me, I would be accused of writing what I wanted to hear, not what my mother really thought. Many of you will remember from columns written over two years ago…
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February 28, 2017: Happy Birthday Mom
Today we celebrate life. Today marks the day an amazing person joined our world. 50 years ago today, my mother was born. On this day my mother began her journey. This day, is when it all started. My mother’s life was filled with ups and downs like all of ours, so what made her so…
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December 11, 2016: Knowing the Future but Living the Present
My daughter Miriam spoke on Shabbat about her mother. My son Yedidya’s Bar Mitzvah was earlier in the week. These were her remarks: ___________ At his Bar Mitzvah, Yedidya talked about the importance of looking ahead and planning for the future. But he also spoke about living in the current moment. Not just worrying about…
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November 4, 2016: Holidays Without Mom
I don’t remember much from before my mother’s diagnosis. I remember going to school and playing with friends. I remember coming home to find some after-school snack my mom had prepared for us (yes, everyday). I remember going upstairs to tell my dad about whatever happened at school (when he worked from home). I remember…
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October 15, 2016: Why Nov?
For those who don’t know, I’ve just begun my third year of high school at Ulpn at Eyal BaRama, located in Moshav Novin the Golan Heights. As you can imagine, I get asked quite a lot why I chose to go to a school that’s roughly 4-5 hours away from my home,in Neve Daniel, Gush…
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July 14, 2016: I’m back
Hello. It’s been a long time since I posted. Long before this blog became a chronicle of our struggle with cancer, it was a place where I could make observations about the wonderful insanity that characterizes the amazing country where I chose to move. It was also the place to write about all the wonderful…
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September 21, 2015: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Yom Kippur
As Rosh Hashanah approached, I was nervous. All I could think about were the holidays 2 years previously. Back then, when we reached Unatane Tokef, I practically ripped myself in two. After all, the prayer is quite clear — between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, our fate is sealed. Whether we live or die is…
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Sing for the Laughter, Sing for the Tears
This post is about a few of those songs. You know the ones I mean. The ones that reach deep inside you and connect with your soul. You hear the first few notes, and you feel yourself welling up with tears. Or maybe the smile starts to form at the corners of your mouth before…