Ilana Grinblat
By Ilana Grinblat
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News Va-yetzei: The Notepad
Last Sunday, my husband went to a franchise expo and returned with various nick-nacks for the kids. He gave my six-year-old son a pad and pen that he’d picked up. Jeremy was delighted and immediately started writing a story about our recent trip to Israel on the pad. At first he asked me how to…
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News Lech Lecha: The Dance
Last night, I attended my cousin’s wedding in Israel. The bride was glowing; the party was jubilant. The couple was clearly beshert (meant for one another); they had been together for years and travelled the world together. The evening was a beautiful celebration of their love. Only one element was conspicuously absent to me; they…
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News When Lightening Strikes
This week, we finish reading the last Torah portion of Deuteronomy and start again at the beginning of Genesis. I can hardly believe that it’s now been a year since I started writing these columns. In reflecting back on the year, I’m struck by how much writing these columns have enriched my life in ways…
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News A Sukkot Message
On Sunday morning, I woke up feeling refreshed and energized, grateful that Yom Kippur was done. “Okay, kids,” I said. “Let’s go outside. We need to build the sukkah today.” My son Jeremy asked: “Why do we have to build a sukkah?” “We need to build the sukkah so we can eat in it,” I…
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News Clean Hands: A Yom Kippur Message
This past Sunday, I took the kids to our synagogue?s tashlich at the beach where we threw bread into the ocean to symbolically cast off our mistakes of the past year. At the beach, we saw several of our friends, so after the ritual was over, we took the kids for lunch. When the kids…
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News Ha’azinu: The Phone Call
Last week, I received an extraordinary phone call from an acquaintance with whom I attended elementary and middle school. She had run into my father on a recent visit to my hometown. He told her how I was doing, so she looked me up and gave me a call. We had a pleasant conversation, catching…
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News Nitzavim and Va-yelekh: The Anniversary Celebration
This weekend, my husband and I went away for a night to celebrate our ten year anniversary. I was initially apprehensive about going. It would be our first overnight outing away from the kids since our first child was born six years ago. My son had been on sleepovers before, but my three-year-old daughter had…
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News Ki Tavo: A Hole in One
On Sunday, my family and I went mini-golfing at a place called the Magic Castle. My three-year-old daughter Hannah had never gone golfing before. Nonetheless, she insisted on swinging the club herself and had a great time hitting the ball as best she could. On one of the holes, she took about ten strokes and…
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