I’m still trying to find adequate words to express the magnitude of what I experienced yesterday. We went underneath the Kotel, the site of our Beis HaMikdash, and took a newly created tour of the ancient tunnels. We saw spaces and structures that were only discovered within the past few years. My body and mind … Continue reading Beis HaMikdash Tunnel Tour: Fusion of Finite and Eternal
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Second Night, Appreciating Light
It’s alive and vibrant here. I can hear chanting and prayer echoing through the Wadi behind our house — along with Eurasian jays and howling tanim. The food is fresh and tastes unbelievable — the juiciest dates, massive mangoes, salty olives, heavenly halava, crispy falafel, warm hummus, freshly roasted cashews, homemade passion-fruit liquor… The natural … Continue reading Second Night, Appreciating Light
A great miracle happened HERE!
Dreidels in galus, outside of Eretz Yisrael, have a Nun, Gimel, Hey, Shin. It’s an acronym for Nes, Gadol, Haya, Sham. A great miracle happened THERE. But now that my family and I made Aliyah, we are living where the actual miracle occurred nearly two millennia ago, in the year 3622 (139 B.C.E.). For many … Continue reading A great miracle happened HERE!
Passing the Torch, One Step at a Time
I cried this morning after walking our son to school. It has been exciting building a new life in the Holy Land, and it’s all starting to come together. And for the first time in my four decades here on Earth—as I walked from his school back home, amidst the buzzing cars and blooming bougainvilleas—I … Continue reading Passing the Torch, One Step at a Time
Planning, effort and prayer to bring parnassah
I knew it shouldn't be just about money. In my family of accountants, making money was the focus. Not creativity, souls, spirituality, or tzedakah. All the things that now inspire me on a daily basis weren't even mentioned when I was a kid. So I went to the extreme, and, subconsciously, I completely avoided bringing … Continue reading Planning, effort and prayer to bring parnassah
Morasha Kehilla: Why I started using my Hebrew name (full version)
I was born into my Jewish family in the Tampa Bay area of Florida, around the time modern Americans were celebrating 200 years since Christian pioneers formally took control of the land they conquered from previous inhabitants. Though my religious great-grandparents fled our enemies in Europe and emigrated to the U.S. in the early 1900s, … Continue reading Morasha Kehilla: Why I started using my Hebrew name (full version)
Israeli Olives
I recently picked out some fresh Israeli olives from a makolet here in the north. In the Torah, the olive is a symbol of holiness, beauty, rejuvenation and peace. The olive is also one of the seven sacred species (shivat minim) of Eretz Yisrael. It’s been 10 weeks since my family and I crossed the … Continue reading Israeli Olives
Birthday Blessings
I awoke at 5:30 am today to the sound of Bedouin men in the neighboring village chanting their prayers (Usually I wake up at 6:30 to the songs of busy yellow-beaked Eurasian blackbirds outside my window and on the roof.). Their chanting was so hauntingly mesmerizing that it gently carried me from asleep to awake… … Continue reading Birthday Blessings
Tree, My Teacher
Six weeks ago we made Aliyah. There are ups and downs, mundane and transcendent moments sometimes all mixed up together. Here, in Eretz Yisrael, I can see and feel the glory of G-d with more depth, but I’m still human. There are times when G-d feels hidden, and, during those difficult moments, I am learning … Continue reading Tree, My Teacher
Full Moon Feelings in Eretz Yisrael
Why can't I just feel "good"? I keep resisting whatever this is inside. The uneasiness is hard to explain. Like I'm uncomfortable within my body, here in this place. What is this place? It's not where I'm meant to be. Not really, anyway. My soul knows; it's not natural. But I -- like other souls … Continue reading Full Moon Feelings in Eretz Yisrael
Mindy Morasha 