Family

Tzomo Lecha Nafshi,

Put away the book. Put it away and listen to Kiddush. Stand up, your father’s waiting. Shhh. Come on.  Nu. Nu!  We don’t talk before grape juice, you’re a big girl already. Kinderlach, let’s wash…

Rievi and I sit on rocks near the shallow stream, the water cascading over tangles of rocks, branches, and fallen tree trunks, seeking its way, as water always does, to the lowest point. We eat the food we…

I usually trudge along with Chasidic women to the J train every morning. Like them, I’m close to the JMZ lines. All of us walk mechanically, like robots, toward the loud, screeching subway train.

“Speaking of loud and screechy,” I…

The Chanukah candles burn and sputter in the darkness, casting a warm glow around the room. They are so beautiful, slowly melting, slowly making rainbow puddles of wax. Right now, I am tied to the coffee table in…

I Love You, Brother. You’re a part of me, and I can’t let go. My heart hurts that yours is broken. I watch you twist and turn and I feel knotted up inside. I see you blink back tears, and my own eyes sting. I smile when you smile, brother. Because I do care and I...
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It’s a winter Friday night, freezing cold outside but inside the small shul it is warm. All adults and children are on their feet facing the opposite side of the holy ark, singing ecstatically along with the chazzan…