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I mentioned the Black Death to a small handful of people during this contemporary plague we’re experiencing—which isn’t much variation from the 15 years before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Those who know me best understand I’ve lived my adult life *desperately* waiting for opportunities to discuss the Black Death (and the Wars of the Roses and …
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a poem by Suzanne Musin
Maybe my soul remembers.
I sit at the table in Egypt
and so will my daughters and so will theirs
and so will I, this year, alone.
Maybe it’s my blood that remembers
the blood of a sacrificial lamb
that marks our doorposts, trusting
the Angel of Death will pass …
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a poem by Suzanne Musin
The rabbis claim ten plagues, or forty,
two hundred, or more.
I killed a locust myself in the kitchen,
wondering what it meant. Did the locust come
to protect me or am I the one cursed?
We are walking out of Egypt now
and the dough cooked without rising.
Five …
Today Ariella and I had lunch at Franchuk to celebrate her birthday from last week. Excellent French toast, btw. So there we were, Ariella sipping her sachlav, me sipping my ice cafe—two super Israeli drinks—and we hear Jingle Bells playing in the mall.
It was the first time I’d heard Christmas songs in the mall …
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I have the good fortune of a friend’s assistance this Passover in ridding myself of all chametz ownership.
Jes, thank you from the depths of my heart for being a True Friend™ and assisting me in leveling up re: spiritual purity and righteousness. You are, as always and in all things, a model of virtue.…
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A friend asked me today if I had sent her a spam email from this address: suzanne.musin854@mipt.ru
No. I did not. Russian spam spies!! Impersonators!! Do not trust. And I’d like to take this opportunity to say to my Russian doppleganger:
1) I am so excited for you because for a brief moment in your …
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My friend asked me if I wanted to take the scenic route from the Golan Heights back to Haifa and I of course agreed.
She was full of superlatives about the view and its being 30 meters away from the Jordanian border at one part and how it’d be totally worth it.
Hard to say …
Currently on a bus down a street in Jerusalem called David HaMelech (King David).
I will never get tired of streets named after Jewish ancestors, Jewish writers, Jewish historical moments.
Driving with Ram a month ago, we came across a street that translated to something like ‘Expelled from Spain.’ (All the Jews were expelled from …
Today, my sister brought up a David Ben-Gurion quote:
“In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles.”
David Ben-GurionJoshua stopping the sun and Daniel in a den of lions are pretty remarkable, but in my personal life, they don’t compare right now to the fact that the Jewish Agency …
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Modern Hebrew and I are not BFFs. We are friends, or maybe ‘acquaintances’ is the more accurate description. I am on nodding terms with his grandfather, Biblical Hebrew, but the old man mostly acknowledges me back because he doesn’t want to embarrass me in front of everyone.
Really, it’s a pity nod.
I imagine Biblical …
Everyone in this world that I have ever met will confront their own death one day.
I’ll die in Israel, hopefully from old age and surrounded by my awesome family. And lots of books.
The world does not end when we do.
I mentioned to my father yesterday in an email that the safety of …
I loved my second grade teacher. (Actually, she was a third grade teacher; I placed high in English so they bumped me up.) She was a kind woman with a pretty smile. I liked the way she explained math problems.
She gave us excellent stories to read, sent us on treasure hunts and used any …