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September 27, 2013: Holiday of “Joy”
Almost all Jewish holidays involve a religious commandment to do something unique. So we eat matzah on Passover. We eat and sleep in special outdoor “booths” on Sukkot. We don’t eat or drink on Yom Kippur. You can go right down the list and every time there is a Jewish holiday, there is something that…
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September 3, 2013: Dear God – Again
Dear God, This is the second time I have written an open letter to you before Rosh Hashanah. Two years ago, when Stella was not given much time to live and much less to live well, I pleaded on her behalf. I enlisted friends to pray for her, and these friends became an Army. And…
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September 1, 2013: Hitting Rock Bottom
I hit rock bottom. Literally. I had been running on a rocky trail in the middle of the night. At first I felt fine. I got into a nice rhythm. I was with friends, and our goal was to run about 40 kilometers to the Western Wall and pray at sunrise. But it was dark…
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August 13, 2013: Acceptance
Stella is home. She is with our beautiful family, in our beautiful house, in our beautiful yishuv, in our beautiful country. She is not giving up the fight, and we do still believe that miracles are possible. However, it is becoming clear that we are reaching the end of what modern medicine can do for…
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August 7, 2013: Seizing a Moment in the Sun
In the last two years, we have taken a number of wonderful, amazing vacations. We have gotten to spend time with family and do some incredible things. Yes, even swimming with dolphins. Yet every single time we have embarked on one of these trips, we knew we were rolling the dice. Every time, we have…
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July 29, 2013: Man Plans, God Laughs
To say that we were excited about our vacation would be a gross understatement. Since I have really been unsure if Stella would be well enough for us to go until a few days ago, I was ecstatic when we finally arrived, tickets in hand, at the airport. We were going to return to Florida…
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July 12, 2013: Did You Win?
A few years ago, I ran the Tiveria Marathon and finished with a great time. I was very proud and happy with my accomplishment. When I got home, I started telling a friend about it. “I had a great run in Tiveria.” “Really! That’s Terrific! Did you win?” “Eh, no.” “Well what place did you…
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June 28, 2013: How Much Can the Body Take?
Every runner has hit the “wall” at some point. I have seen the strongest, most experienced runners have days where they were forced to shuffle until the end of a run. Sometimes the reason is due to mistakes. Maybe you didn’t drink enough, didn’t get enough sleep, didn’t train enough, trained too much etc. And…
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June 7, 2013: The Run for Stella
We started the run at four in the morning in the dark. Thirteen of us met behind my house in Neve Daniel for a 36 kilometer run to Bet Shemesh. I was thrilled that Stella got up and came outside at the early hour to see us off. Especially this week, to see her in…
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June 4, 2013: Anniversaries
Yesterday, Stella and I “celebrated” out twenty-second wedding anniversary. Some pasta from the Gush Etzion winery and a few episodes of a television show were all we could handle, but after twenty-two years, we don’t need an elaborate party. If twenty-two years sounds like a long time, keep in mind that we actually met each…
The Hatchery: a blog about my adventures in bird watching
