Author Archives: Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

עשרה נסיונות נתנסה אברהם אבינו עליו השלום ועמד בכולם להודיע כמה חיבתו של אברהם אבינו עליו השלום “With ten tests our father Abraham was tested” – The rabbis tell us in Pirkei Avot (5:3) – “and he withstood them all–in … Continue reading →

Noah 2019 “Journniversary”: October 30, 1984. Goodbye hugs at the “old” Ben Gurion airport; a giant backpackers backpack towering over my head; sleeping-bag tied below; winter coat for trekking in Nepal; shorts for the islands of Thailand; malaria pills; cassettes … Continue reading →

The first Rashi on the Torah is so bizarre, it’s worth bringing it in its own words (with Sefaria’s help): בראשית IN THE BEGINNING — Rabbi Isaac said: The Torah which is the Law book of Israel should have commenced … Continue reading →

People file into the trail quietly and excitedly as the sun rises over Mount Scopus. It’s the annual Jerusalem “march”, a word that doesn’t quite describe for me tze’ada, which is more of a national walk. A decades’ long tradition, … Continue reading →

Yom Kippur in Haifa of my childhood: some of us in white rushing, all too seriously, to attend “services” in one of the many shuls around, to contemplate, to find meaning, to read ancient prayers which are almost impossible to … Continue reading →

I love Moshe in the Torah portion of Vayeylech. I loved him last year and love him just the same if not more this year. I think of him daily. At 120 years old, he walks. And not for his … Continue reading →

Walking in Haifa of my childhood, less than a mile from where I grew up, sometimes I meet myself coming and going. Yesterday she was sitting at a bus stop, chatting with friends in her school’s uniform, ponytail bouncing as … Continue reading →

One month in Israel, not even close to scraping the surface of this old-new seashell. There are moments that I’m not sure what I was thinking, and there are moment that I can’t believe I’ve waited so long to be … Continue reading →

Evening walk on this Haifa street: red-roofed, multi-family homes on left, woodsy forest of pines and oaks on the right, and a movement in the thicket. A person? Too wide. A cat or dog? Too big. But there is movement. … Continue reading →

The tension between hearing, listening and seeing, looking are emphasized in the Book of Deuteronomy, especially in this week and last week’s reading. First, “our manta”: Shma! שמע Listen! Then, this week  – Re’e! ראה. Listening is considered more internal; … Continue reading →