Author Archives: Miriam Metzinger

Israel at War: A Mother’s Thoughts

We are at war again. I remember being pregnant in 2006 with my second son during the second Lebanon War and thinking about all of the Israeli pregnant women who were sitting in shelters as bombs exploded around them. Now I am thinking of the people who are afraid to walk outside with their children because they will not be able to run back into the shelter as soon as the siren blares; there are only 15 seconds between the time a siren is sounded and the time it takes for the Palestinian Kassam rockets to hit their targets. Rabbis, … Continue reading →

Chanukah – A Victory of Light

Chanukah is here again-probably the most famous of all Jewish holidays. Actually, it has traditionally been considered a “minor holiday” in the Jewish calendar: the holiday was not mandated by the Torah but established by the rabbis, we are allowed to work and pursue ordinary activities during these days (although we are encouraged not to work while the Chanukah menorah is burning), and there is no festive meal associated with Chanukah (although it is traditional to eat special foods such as latkes-fried potato pancakes, jelly doughnuts and diary foods). However, this “minor holiday” continues to take on added significance and … Continue reading →

Sandra Samuel: The Woman Who Saved the World

Those who followed the news story about the Mumbai attacks which destroyed scores of lives may recall an unforgettable image of an Indian woman with a two year old boy in her arms. The boy was Moshe Holtzberg, the son of Chabad emissaries Rivka and Gabi Holtzberg who were brutally murdered in the terrorist attack. At first, it was falsely reported that the terrorist released the child and her nanny. This news gave me false hope for the release of the others as I was following the story. The tragic truth is that the terrorists turned out to be as … Continue reading →

Thoughts on the Mumbai Attacks, the Holtzbergs

Dear readers, I wanted to write before about this, but I could not concentrate. My heart is broken, there are no words, it is hard for me to formulate my thoughts. I hate the way this sounds like a cliché, but I felt like I lost sisters and brothers, literally. I felt like sitting Shiva (the seven day mourning period observed by families of the deceased). Finally, I am able to write something and I have to. The Mumbai attacks have sent the world reeling. What did the Holtzbergs do? Did they stockpile weapons against their enemies? Did they teach … Continue reading →

Do We Have to Suffer Anymore?

I think most people have heard Ancient Chinese saying (or is it a curse): May you live in interesting times. And the times we are living in are nothing if not interesting. First of all, the Wall Street Crash. In my other life, I work as a financial writer and editor, and I was on maternity leave during the disaster in the stock market, which happened amid the Days of Awe nonetheless.* Rabbi Simon Jacobson says the stock market crash reminds us that the material world is fleeting and we should focus on what is more lasting than money, our … Continue reading →

Flood of Holy Words

I apologize to my readers that I have been away for the past month. We were quite busy during the Jewish holidays and my husband was traveling abroad, so I had to hold the fort with my two smallest children while my oldest son enjoyed a trip to Crown Heights with his father. If you’ve ever seen pictures of the famous synagogue 770 in the month of Tishrei, you perhaps can recall the sea of black hats and jackets. It is truly an amazing sight. There were 10,000 visitors to Crown Heights over the holidays, and I am always amazed … Continue reading →

Happy New Year!

First of all, a prosperous, healthy and meaningful new year to you all. I hope this year will bring peace, light and joy and hopefully, the ideal era we have all been waiting for. Amid frantic Rosh Hashana food preparations (unlike those of you who live outside of the Land of Israel, I am not used to two-day long holidays, with the exception of Rosh Hashana, which is celebrated for two days also in the Land of Israel), I have several ideas floating in my brain, but I wasn’t sure which I should write about. In the lectures I have … Continue reading →

Compassion: The Higher Love

I have some issues with the word “love” in the English language. The word, when translated, is problematic in other languages too, but one problem is that in English, one can say that one “loves” something that only gratifies selfish needs. For instance, a person can say they “love” their child and at the same time say they “love” chicken l’orange. Certainly (or hopefullY) a person does not love their child and chicken l’orange in the same way (Although I have heard parents say their kids are so cute, they could “eat them up”) but this only demonstrates the problem … Continue reading →

Elul: The King is in the Field

So many of us have caught the election bug, following whichever convention appeals most to our political views, reading blogs, watching the news for speeches and comments from our favorite (or least favorite) candidate. Both candidates want to seem likeable, approachable, like regular guys (in Jewish speak, “Heimishe”). They shake hands, kiss babies, meet with people who, if they had their choice, they wouldn’t even want to talk to, all to send the message “I am the kind of person you can talk to and get along with.” While the month of Elul, the month leading up to the Jewish … Continue reading →

Lighting Up the World

I was looking at my To-Do list yesterday. “Looking” is the operative word. Not completing the items on my To-Do list. I get as much pleasure making these lists as I do window shopping. But looking at the result, the long list itself, is like picking up the bill after an extravagant meal at a restaurant (hmm…when was the last time I’ve been to a restaurant…I guess back in the days when the bill was cheaper than the babysitting!) I ask, as many others do, how am I going to get this done. In addition, like most people, I am … Continue reading →