“It’s A Scary Thing, How Quickly The People Closest To You Can Become Strangers.’’

Sometimes one line makes a film: last night on the flight back from JFK to Ben Gurion  I watched the romantic drama The Longest Ride, based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks. It tells the story of two parallel pairs of star-crossed lovers. Within the fictional world the line “It’s a scary thing, how quickly the people closest to you can become strangers” refers specifically to lovers falling out of love. But it is also applicable to alienated family members or to good friends who, for no apparent reason, become distant. 

For me those words express much more than communication problems between close family and friends,  they describe the way I feel about my own community. The recent manifestations of hatred and violence toward minority groups and those who hold different opinions make me feel, for the first time in my life, estranged from my people.

Please keep reading in the Times Of Israel 

http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/its-a-scary-thing-how-quickly-the-people-closest-to-you-can-become-strangers/

Women And Aging: The Pnina Rosenblum Version

The other night on Israeli television (Hakol Kalul-- all inclusive) I watched Talia Peled Keinan interviewing the  Israeli  businesswoman, and media personality, Pnina Rosenblum.

About two years ago Rosenblum started an online dating service, lately she was sued by one of her former clients. He was one of her VIP clients who paid a large sum of money so that she personally would find him a suitable partner.  Apparently she failed to do so. Rosenblum ignored questions about the lawsuit, instead she used the opportunity to promote her business. She encouraged older men to subscribe, even free of charge, to her dating service and gave older women some personal grooming tips

Rosenblum claimed that older women should be careful not to let themselves go, eligible men are rare, and in order to catch a man, women must stay slim and beautiful.

Please keep reading in the Times Of Israel

http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/women-and-aging-the-pnina-rosenblum-version/

Two Lovely Misses: Together For Over Forty Years

My daughter's cello teacher was a tall woman with white hair and a kind smile. At the time when we met her she was in her early 70s, retired, and did not teach on a regular basis anymore. Still since we were in town only for a year she agreed to teach my four year old daughter. But she had one condition: I had to take cello lessons as well.

Her reason was that in order to appreciate what it meant for a young child to master the cello, and to help her practice, I had to learn it myself.

That teacher had a great reputation and I really wanted her to  teach my daughter, so I agreed. Besides, her explanation made sense since, in the Suzuki method for teaching young children music, the parent has to practice everyday at home with the child.

Please keep reading in the Times Of Israel

http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/two-lovely-misses-together-for-over-forty-years/

The Dangers Of Art And Ideas: Between Mike Leigh And Miri Regev

At the end of a gallery talk at Yale about his latest film Mr. Turner, Mike Leigh said: “The audience is a collection of people who are at least as intelligent as me.” He added that it didn’t matter how much the audience knew in terms of general knowledge of the subject, what mattered was that he assumed nothing and conveyed his message in a clear way.

Mike Leigh said those things to a full house of especially intelligent listeners, most of whom knew Turner’s work well. His lecture was  part of the annual Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven.

Mike Leigh is right : previous knowledge of art is not a prerequisite for enjoyment as long as the message is clear. Mr Turner is an important and enjoyable film for viewers who know Turner’s work well, and also for those who were introduced to him for the first time.

Please keep reading in the Times Of Israel

http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-dangers-of-art-and-ideas-between-mike-leigh-and-miri-regev/

Father’s Day and the fifth commandment

I never knew that we had a Father’s Day in Israel, but according to Wikipedia “In Israel, Father's day is called "Yom ha-av" and is usually celebrated on May 1 together with Workers' Day or labour Day.” This is another proof that Wikipedia could not be trusted for reliable information. The truth is that in Israel we don’t have Father’s Day, or Mother’s Day, only the most parve Family Day.

In the US, Father and Mother’s Day are celebrated on Sunday, so that families could have an opportunity to enjoy that time on their day off. Today, the third Sunday in June, is Father’s Day.

While honoring parents one day a year is quite simple and could even be enjoyable, it is much harder the other 363 days of the year. Here is an essay that I wrote some time ago about the special difficulties with the fifth commandment.

Please keep reading in the Times of Israel

http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/fathers-day-and-the-fifth-commandment/

"Price Tag" And Some Left Wing Blunders

About two year ago,  when the name “Price Tag” started to become a house-hold name, I came across an announcement that Peace Now was organizing  bus tours to the occupied territories. The purpose of those excursions was to educate the public about the effects of this new brand of Israeli terrorism.

Immediately I signed up, I had to see for myself the other side, to check what the map looked like in reality, and to hear more about those disturbing activities. Like many Israelis, I have never even been to Ariel, (the only Israeli city across the green line) and it is only 30 minutes drive from Tel Aviv.

The tour's destination was the area which was hit most by settlers’ terrorism. We visited the Palestinian village of Kousra where, at that time, ten settlers from a nearby settlement were caught after they had come to vandalize the village

Then we drove up to the next hill to see the place where the settlers came from.

Please keep reading in the Times Of Israel

http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/price-tag-and-some-left-wing-blunders/

"Not every death is the end of a well lived life"

At the hospital where my husband was being treated for cancer, Chemotherapy was administered in a communal room.There were several armchairs for patients, and some regular chairs for family members. The whole process took several hours, and we had to somehow pass the time. So, with everyone around,  it became an opportunity to talk, a kind of spontaneous support group.

One Friday we were only four in the room: my husband and I, another middle-aged man, like us, and a young woman. We started talking, and she told us about her life and her illness. It transpired that she recently had got married and had a small baby.

Suddenly the man, who sat with us, blurted, “ It is so unfair that you are sick, you are so young, and have a baby."

Please keep reading in the Times Of Israel

http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/not-every-death-is-the-end-of-a-well-lived-life/