Menorah on the Mountain
Kibbutz Ketura, in the south of Israel, is a small, quiet agricultural settlement, with a rich tradition of community celebration.
Kibbutz Ketura, in the south of Israel, is a small, quiet agricultural settlement, with a rich tradition of community celebration.
When I light the first Chanukah candle this year on Dec. 25, the mid-winter moon will be waning. Every night, as I add candles to the menorah, the night sky will be darker until, on the last night when we put our chanukiah in the living room window with all nine candles burning, there will be the first small sliver of moon to meet us.
People see me as your \”typical Jewish woman,\” and maybe it\’s true: I\’ve got curly hair, opinions on every subject and I do not go camping. Plus, even after years of speech classes, I still have an identifiable New York nasality in my voice.
The popular Jewish online dating site expanded its search capabilities this month to allow gay men — and also lesbians — to seek matches. The Web site now asks people for their gender and the gender they\’re searching, allowing men to search for men and women to search for women.
I have a perfect record in setting up my friends on dates: I have struck out every single time. I am 0 for 20, maybe worse. Only one relationship that I tried to initiate made it past the first date. That one lasted for four years and ended in tears, anguish and confusion. The only thing those two friends agreed on in the end is they would never accept my offer to set them up again with anyone, ever.
My neurosis is like a Ferrari. I can go from 0 to 60 in under four seconds.
I dream of a summer night long ago. I\’m a 17-year-old usher in a neighborhood theater. We play second-run films. Most of that summer we show \”Pursued,\” starring Teresa Wright and Robert Mitchum.
Gaza 1995. Though my tank brigade is stationed in the Jordan Valley, I am deployed to Rafiah. Rafiah lies in the southern Gaza Strip, on the Israeli-Egyptian border.
On the holiday of Sukkot, it is customary to read Kohelet, the Book of Ecclesiastes, written by King Solomon. The following \”updated\” version of Kohelet is written by Judy Gruen, with major apologies to King Solomon.