Slice Of Life
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How To Make Moroccan Mufleta Immediately After Passover: We Did It!
History has been made in our family,! For the first time ever we were able to pull off the beloved (by Moroccans and their non-Moroccan friends and neighbors) Moroccan tradition of making mufleta, and throwing a mini-Mimouna party, in our very own home. Wow, I almost can’t believe it! You see for years it was just me cleaning up in the kitchen as soon as Passover had ended, (around 8:30pm) and by the time everything was washed and packed up safely, before bringing any flour into the kitchen, well it was very late and I was not up for more cooking, especially when the family was already asleep! Nonetheless, I…
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Welcome To Our Passover Seder Table!
Wishing everyone a peaceful, restful and joyful Passover holiday! We are now on the 5th night of the 7 (8 outside of Israel) night holiday, so there isn’t much time left to really enjoy this special holiday despite everything going on in the world around us! While I do love Passover, as of today my teens are officially going a bit stir crazy, and once the holiday is over we’ll be able to do things that we don’t do during this time, like crafting and painting and gardening, which will help keep everyone busy and hopefully occupied. If not, I have a whole basement and an attic that needs organizing?…
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Cranes Migrating Home To Europe On A Rainy Day
Yes, dear readers, we know that Spring is quickly approaching, even in some of the colder countries in Europe, as the twice-yearly crane migration is happening! This is one of our favorite things to witness, here in Northern Israel, and family members generally shout to one another “cranes!” and everyone comes running, as it is truly a sight not to be missed. Sometimes small groups of cranes fly close enough to even see their tiny feet with the naked eye, while most of the time the cranes are rather far away. Today, amidst the rain clouds I spotted several very large groups of cranes, and ran to grab my camera.…
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When To Return To Work After Health Or Maternity Leave?
Above: Cranes migrating home to Europe from Africa passed over Northern Israel yesterday! My neighbors pergola and balcony did obscure them a bit by the time I ran to grab my camera. With so many folks around the world either working from home, quarantined, or just plain out of work due to hopefully temporary business closures, thinking about returning to work is a great way to bring hope into the picture. Rather than dwelling on the current situation, lets pray that the Corona virus pandemic will not reach disastrous levels in most of the world, and within a month or so the majority of folks not working will be able…
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Today Is The Tenth Of Tevet
Above: Jaffa Gate, Jerusalem circa 1900, roughly 2,000 years after the destruction of the First Temple! Today is the Tenth of Tevet an important day on the Jewish calendar, and a minor fast day. The fast begins at dawn and concludes at nightfall and there are no other physical constraints beyond fasting, in contrast to the major fast of Tisha B’Av. Because it is a minor fast day, there are many exemptions from the fast, many women do not fast, and certainly those who are nursing or with young children are exempt. Whether or not one is fasting we certainly do keep in mind the importance of the day, which…
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Goodbye Summer, Hello The Month Of Elul!
Hello Dear Friends, after five glorious weeks of being mostly unplugged or at least not working on the blog or any other computer work, I am back, and with so much to share I’m not sure where to start. With the exception of some photos taken from the plane, this Cape Cod sunset is the last photo I took on my summer vacation that took place across two continents, so I thought I’d start here, at the end! This year, since it is Jewish leap year, the Jewish calender and the gregorian calender are exactly in sync, with the first day of Elul coinciding with the first day of September,…
