My Favorite Fast Day

Today is the 17th of Tammuz, my favorite fast day.  I like fasting. It’s not hard for me, and a little ascetic mortification, within reason, can sharpen you and make you reflect. So all things being equal I observe the “minor fasts.” Today, the 17th of Tammuz, is the hardest, because summer days don’t end… Read more »

Another Note from Jerusalem (Sort of): Tuesday of AC’s Israel Trip

My Friends – my “Notes from Jerusalem” are coming a little late: this note about our Tuesday is posting Friday – after I flew back last night. What can I say? Our days were long. I will add one more about our Wednesday and Thursday after Shabbat. Shabbat Shalom from New York! The second day… Read more »

A Note from Jerusalem: Sunday and Monday of AC’s Israel Trip

Dear Friends, 26 of your Ansche Chesed friends began our Israel trip Sunday night and Monday, with a full day of challenging programming. Some people arrived before Shabbat, but most of us flew overnight on Saturday and arrived Sunday afternoon. We began Sunday night with a kick-off dinner at the excellent Montefiore restaurant in Yemin… Read more »

Yes, Still Zionist: Thoughts for Yom Ha’Atzmaut, 2024

I love visiting cemeteries. I know, it seems morbid.  But I find it life-affirming to stand before matzevot – monuments inscribed with people’s names, when they lived, messages from loved ones. Monuments tell interlocking stories of lives and loves: she was named for her grandmother; he fought in World War II; that couple lost one… Read more »