Apologetics first. How this trip was possible is because my spouse travels a lot for work and gets frequent flyer miles. Also, once every seven years he gets a long vacation. Given that, we sometimes have enough free tickets and enough time to take the kids on a major trip. At this point, it’s not [...]
Israel and the Palestinian Authority will be re-starting peace negotiations. This round, brought abouth by US Secretary of State John Kerry, does not seem to ignite a whole lot of optimism anywhere in our pressure-cooker part of the world. We all want peace. I can’t imagine a singel person in the Middle East who will [...]
My theory is that if you go to a tribe of Masai warriors or Inuti hunters, you will find that it’s always the same individuals who volonteer to organize things. It starts in grade-school, and it follows you all through your life. Some people are like that, they get roped in. This week I was [...]
I’m not sure about this whole “letting the kids grow up and become independent” thing. At this point in life, I find myself very well equipped for raising kids, and not at all equipped for letting them go. What? They are my kids. So what if they can vote, drive a car and earn their [...]
When did you last read a psalm? Most of the time, I admit that I don’t understand very much of the text. But this one, written around the year 1000 B.C., fits me perfectly today. From Psalm 122 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you May peace be within your [...]
Tomorrow is Holocaust Memorial Day in Israel, Yom hashoa. The date, the 27 of the Jewish month of Nisan, was chosen as a connecting point between two other highly significant days, the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto and Israels Independence Day. On two significant days in the spring, the sirens go off and the country halts [...]
The plotline in the Book of Esther is unlike any other in the Old Testament. Achashverus, the mighty King of Persia, throws a party for the, male only, upper crust of his empire. He commands his trophy wife, Vashti, to come and show her beauty to his guests. She refuses, possibly because she is supposed [...]
Within Judaism, there are four main movements, Ultra-Orthodox, Orthodox, Conservative and Reform. Each movement has its own institutions, synagogues, rabbi’s, theology etc. There are very big differences in the day to day life of a practising Ultra-Orthodox and Reform Jew. One lives life in strictest adherence to the ancient Jewish law, Halacha, dress, food, social [...]
Min gamla Volvo har pajat. Det verkar inte som det kommer att gå att fixa den, den här gången. Bilen är 26 år gammal och det börjar bli svårt med reservdelar. De senaste 10 åren har bilen långsamt chanserat. Små eller stora plastbitar och knappar trillar av, lampor släcks och vinylen runt fönstren krullar ihop [...]
This week's elections in Israel started off as rather hum-drum. Israel’s economy is in relatively good shape, better than most European countries, with a high economic growth-rate and low unemployment. Nevertheless, the government has run up a large deficit, and we are looking at some major budget-cuts. The previous government wanted to avoid elections right [...]
