Yet all are part of one neshamah, planted in rich, verdant soil, determined to grow. May our garden continue to produce a glorious assortment of flowers and trees, each attached firmly to its roots. Our diverse southern vegetation flourishes and grows into different trees, flowers, and fruits, and a rainbow of glorious shades and hues appears. Yet each shoot is rooted in the same soil, stretching its branches and blossoms heavenward in an endless pursuit of growth and connection to the One above.

This past Lag B’Omer, we were blessed to make our first upsherin, where we celebrate our son’s first hair cut. It’s a wonderful milestone that mimics the three years that we refrain from plucking a tree’s first fruits and symbolizes the entry of the child into the world of Torah learning. It’s a clear sign to everyone; this boy is no longer a baby.

Although there are more direct and faster routes to Beer Sheva and Eilat and all the sites and towns in-between, the Basor River is one of the beauties of the Negev that defiantly justifies a diversion.

The importance of death customs has been ingrained in me since birth. When I served as a shomeret for my grandmother, I was instructed not to eat, drink or perform a mitzvah in the same room. In the shock of death, it seemed rather inane to be told it would be considered mocking the dead. My grandmother was gone; she couldn’t do those things because she didn’t exist anymore, a fact that still makes me tear up.

The Gazan gave Israeli citizens an early wake-up call at 5:30 this morning, when they launched 3 rockets at the coastal city. Two of the rockets landed in an open area, and the third near the Ashkelon Beach area. The last rocket attack against Ashkelon was at the end of April. No injuries or damage [...]

On Tuesday, Senator Daniel Squadron announced that the NY State Senate passed his legislation to make the Mitchell-Lama Housing Program more accessible to middle class families. The Assembly passed the legislation earlier this month; it will now be sent to the Governor. Current law stipulates that families with two or more dependents — whose joint annual net income exceeds [...]