Children and parents holding a banner saying “Declare an Emergency Climate Crisis!” You can't expect a mother to do nothing when her child's whole future is at risk.  Parents in Israel and across the world joined youth climate strikers in a global day of climate action on 25th September 2020. In addition to Israel, parents from Brazil, Nigeria, India, Australia, Poland, UK, Germany and many other countries took part in the da...

 Unity is the Key As I write, the sad news of the passing of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks has been announced. The former Chief Rabbi of the British United Hebrew Congregation made a huge philosophical contribution to the wider society, and I would like to begin with the following prophetic quote from his book The Dignity of Difference (2002). "Ch...

Corona causes changes, even in ESRA Magazine The skies have broken – lightning, thunder, rains peltering down. Stormy weather as I write. So too in ESRA Magazine. Tradition of forty-one years has been broken. In 2021 we will publish four issues instead of five issues a year. Sad I am, worried too that we will be reaching out to you our readers less...

Hard to believe this is a wild carrot (Photo: Debbie Zimelman) Nature ‘n Nosh — A family of all ages Nature ‘n Nosh Picnic Ten years ago, out of the blue, I had the first opportunity to change the course of my life. I had been happily working as an aliyah advisor in Modiin when government budget cuts forced me to look for a new direction. Having gained so much satisfaction from helping immigrant families, I thought long and hard about finding a career in an area I was ...

Detail of “Three Angels on the Balcony in Jaffa” — Oil on Canvas, 1996 The artist in his studio Sharir with “Little Paradise in the Red Sea” — Oil with Gold Leaf Photos: Liora Blum  The Dual Disciplines of David Sharir My introduction to the creative work of versatile Israeli artist David Sharir was by coincidence. The expression "never judge a book by its cover" is applicable to buildings as well. Some of the least attractive office buildings in Tel Aviv can hold the most wonderful surprises. One exam...

I'm passionate about crochet. I first learned to crochet at the age of 16 while on a French exchange. My French pen-friend had learned to make granny squares and she showed me how. During the next few years I continued to crochet, making small items from books and patterns. Then family life became more hectic and for a while I had to put down my ho...

The Herring Eaters of Katwijk The best way to get around Amsterdam A weekday cruise through the locks Windmills at the Zaanse Schans park Stephen Schulman: The Dutch version of “Too big for his boots” is “Too small for his clogs!” Lunch break on the beach at Zandvoort Holland is renowned for many things; amongst them are its cheeses, chocolates, tulips, the flatness of the low-lying topography, and its many windmills. For the cyclist, no hills to climb are a blessing and in the countryside, the ubiquitous turning windmills are a picturesque sight. Nevertheless, while pedaling along and quite often encountering g...

Thank you for your scholarships  Dear ESRA Five Towns Branch, I wish to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your willingness to support and donate funds for my studies in medical pedicure. I especially appreciate it very much in these uncertain days which we are now experiencing in the Corona times. It is important for me that in this pe...

Shirimon Rimon Music School Annual Singing Competition  Warning: gushing granny alert!  You might say I married into music. Rusty, my husband, played violin as a boy. His mom, a piano teacher, forfeited a lavish wedding in favor of a Steinway boudoir grand. It found its way into our parlor, where visiting virtuosos wowed us, as my sister-...

Photo by Niilo Isotalo on Unsplash  It was during the last summer of the 20th century that I found myself standing, one of two people, next to an open grave, in a cemetery not far from Tel Aviv.After an illness which had wasted her away, a friend had died and was to be buried there. For many years Helen was one of the few customers at my bookshop in Ibn Gvirol, and also one of ...