Rosh Hashanah, Tishri 1, 5760

Check your calendar...it will soon be New Year's Day--the Jewish New Year, that is.

An Evening on the Midrahov

A most enjoyable evening begins after my 6:30 p.m. appointment with the dentist. I feel I deserve a reward after agonizing in the dentist's chair, so I arrange to meet my friend Ragna, to celebrate her birthday with a cup of tea.

Don't Throw Away That Piece of Bread

The importance of sharing one's bread with the poor has remained in the Jewish consciousness until today. Many people do not want to throw away bread. Instead of dumping their bread along with the rest of their garbage into the garbage carts parked along the streets, they save the bread in plastic sacks and hang it from the metal projections on the sides of the carts (used to hoist the carts into the garbage trucks).

Shopping On The Jericho Road

The Jericho Road is only about a thirty-minute drive from where we live. Yet the story of the Good Samaritan can be as distant as the period of time in which it happened.

Haste Is of the Devil

David Flusser once said that Jesus' teachings could be summed up in one word: "Relax!"

The Cross, the Crescent and the Star of David

Recently, a friend and I went to Haifa to visit a Christian lady (born in Israel) with whom I used to live when I first arrived in Israel. Having been to Haifa only three times since 1966, I had forgotten how the Jews and Arabs of this city live together with mutual respect and tolerance, how they ride public busses together, live in the same apartment houses, and mingle together in stores, restaurants and at various social functions.

RTD vs. Egged

I love the interaction between the passengers and bus drivers. You see, by taking the bus, not only do I avoid the stress of driving in traffic, I also get to experience the deep, primal foundation of human existence -- community.