After many years of exhibiting abroad, Steffa Reis—a veteran member of the Israel Painters and Sculptors Association and a longtime resident member of the legendary artists' colony in Zefat (Safed), recently presented a retrospective exhibition entitled "50 Creative Years - Seasons of the Soul", at the Artists' House in Tel Aviv. The exhibition inc...

A Little Goes a Long Way As I write, immediately before the start of the Shavuot holiday, Israel is once again under threat. Just when we were enjoying a renewed sense of liberty after a year of restrictions due to COVID, we find ourselves under a terrifying hail of rocket fire. It is not my intention to make a political statement nor relate to det...

"If I see a rocket coming, I'll step out of its way". Since yesterday life has gone back to normal, no more Corona, and I wish I could say "no more wars". But instead of plotting peace, the leaders of both sides prepare for the next round. No vision, no courage, no concern for their people. However, I did have a good laugh when Siri, one of our wri...

This is about a recent camping holiday I took together with my wife, Jana, in 2019. I'm not going to tell you how beautiful the Dalmatian cost is; I wish to share with you what I've seen and my thoughts on our way there. We drove all night and in the early morning reached Plitvice Lakes National Park, in central Croatia. Jana's favorite childhood f...

The intrepid seniors setting out (from l to r) Garry Bregman, Ian Goodriche, Stephen Kliner, Lawrence Bertfield, David Raffel and Jamie Aaron Shapiro The gang in waterproof gear Montfort Fortress as seen from Goren The Pillar at Nahal Amud At the trail end David stretches out to touch the Kineret The Mediterranean at Akhziv A well-earned rest Photos by Garry Bregman, David Raffel and Stephen Kliner As I looked at my weather forecast App on the morning of Sunday, February 27, I was dismayed to note it showed constant rain for the next four days. Unfortunately, these were precisely the four days I and five friends, all in our late 60s, had planned to fulfil our common desire to hike ...

Ron with grandson Gabe at his brit milah Ron Wolfson was sure that he was the best boy in the United States of America. I'm sure he is one of the best men there today. Let me explain. Ron is a Jewish educator, the Fingerhut Professor of Jewish Education at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, California. Some years ago he wrote a memoir about growing up Jewish in the small Midwe...

Remember when you made aliya and had to figure everything out on your own? ESRA & Gvahim is a new and unique collaboration between two established NGOs that share the same values and commitment to aiding the integration of olim, encouraging aliyah, and providing olim with a single source for solutions to today's challenges. In short, ESRA &...

Beth Protea, the retirement home that was established in Herzliya in 1992 by the South African community in Israel, with help from Southern Africans all over the world has established its reputation as a caring, protective and nurturing environment for the aging population. Far less is known about a wonderful subsidiary project that got underway se...

Playing “rock, paper, scissors” for real The Hebrew name for this project is א"ח בקהילה which has two meanings in English: Academics Mentoring in the Community, or, A Brother in the Community. And this exactly describes the essence of this project in which ESRA has been involved together with the Welfare Department of the Rishon LeZion Municipality for four years. It is a partnership of E...

I, an 89-year-old widower, was puffing along, like Thomas the Tank Engine, minding my own business, when Murphy, he of the immutable law of nature, struck. The right leg had separated itself from the rest of my spectacles. A visit to my optometrist confirmed that no repair was possible, the lenses could not be put into a new frame, and after machin...