chronicles of an Orthodox Jew in the modern world
It’s been six months since our move to Israel, and obviously things got interesting in the last couple of months. Israel took a pretty strong stance on handling Corona, but it seems that most places around the world have since caught up and we are now all in the same boat. Over here, it’s currently [...]
I just finished watching Unorthodox on Netflix. Didn’t take long as it’s only four episodes. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s a miniseries about a young woman who leaves behind the insular Hasidic Satmar community of Williamsburg and begins a new life in Berlin, loosely based on a true story. I have to say, [...]
Israel is taking drastic measures to combat Coronavirus. In a nutshell: Ban on gatherings of over 10 people. All schools, malls, gyms, and restaurants are closed. Workplaces are opting to work from home. And quarantined corona patients are being tracked by some device that we all knew Israel already had. Violators may face prison. It’s eerie enough as [...]
From the moment I covered my hair, I didn’t connect with it. I would look in the mirror with my wig on and couldn’t relate to myself. So I opted for hats. But with hats, I always felt hidden. Like it was a barrier between me and the rest of the world. I agonized for [...]
We recently hit our 3-month mark since our move to Israel. Whereas our first weeks in Israel were spent running around navigating Israeli bureaucracy, the last little bit has been focused on settling into our new life, i.e., meeting new people and starting to look for jobs (although I’m kind of loving this new semi-retirement [...]
I wrote this post in honour of International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27, 2020) in memory of Zvi's grandparents and as a tribute to the courage of every survivor to start over and rebuild our nation. This post was published on The Times of Israel.My husband’s grandfather was a Holocaust survivor. He was liberated from [...]
In 2016, I was sitting in my masters class eagerly awaiting a guest speaker that had come in to discuss Canada’s approach to foreign policy. Around that time, Canadians had swung their long-standing Conservative Harper votes to the Liberal Trudeau government. As I sat among my peers of fellow future policy advisors in what is [...]
We are six weeks into our move to Israel. Here are the highlights in a nutshell. Israeli Bureaucracy It’s everything you’ve heard about, and more. You book an appointment on a super advanced app only to arrive at a location that no longer exists. When you get to the right place, the lines can be [...]
When I was six years old and living in Israel I would take the public bus to school along with all the other independent little Israelis. One morning I got a late start and the thought of walking into class last made me cringe (still does). And so, as I rode the bus that day, I [...]
Zvi and I love to travel. We’ve been to over a dozen countries and have never let being Orthodox stop us. Here are some tried and true tips based on our adventures. Tip #1: Find the nearest Chabad and enjoy the delicious meals they have to offer. Just try not to think about the fact [...]
