Author Archives: Michal Kohane מיכל כהנא

1 Bus, 4 weeks, 42 teens, and more than 2500 miles…

Turns out, the most common question is not – ‘when are we going to get there’? But rather – ‘what are we doing tomorrow’? On the climb uphill, they want to know exactly, what are we doing tomorrow, and is … Continue reading

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The Art of Kvetching

Kvetching is an art. How to combine the right amounts of nagging, whining, flattery, with a good cause that needs attention? As we’ll see, the recent film “Inside Out” provides us with a great illustration: It’s the difference between Sadness … Continue reading

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The Dilemma of the Oaklandish – Israeli Expat and more

The Dilemma of the Oaklandish-Israeli Expat Due to family circumstance, I ended up this past Tuesday evening, in one of Oakland’s “taverns”. The place, reeking of deep fried oils, meat and beer, was packed with “loud and proud” Golden State … Continue reading

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ReJewvenate – check out my campaign on Jewcer!

Linkedin is announcing it’s time to celebrate my work anniversary: 2 years since I’ve become a freelance writer, educator and some (dance teacher, tour guide, public speaker, student in a PsyD program and more…); 2 years since the “infamous” publication … Continue reading

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Shabbat before Shavu’ot – זמן מתן תורה

It’s a few minutes to Shabbat which will run into a holiday. The cashier at the grocery store wonders if we’re getting extra challah for Memorial Day weekend. We tell her, it happens to also be – Chag Shavuot. Shavuot … Continue reading

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FOMO & Pesach Sheni

Turns out, people suffered from FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) already in Torah time. Numbers 9:6-14 gives us the details: “those people” came and asked Moses: What if, through no fault of our own, we didn’t get to bring the … Continue reading

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skin, clothing, house-walls, what?

What is the meaning of a sickness that affects a house? Tzara’at, the strange condition which we often erroneously translate as leprosy, affects human skin, clothing and dwellings, but only of the houses in the Land of Israel. The midrash … Continue reading

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In Silence

I’m sitting between the embroidered pillows on the purple couch at my aunt’s sunny living room, my feet rubbing against the soft carpet, indoor plants shading us from the slowly accumulating spring heat. In front of me is the mahogany … Continue reading

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Pesach: A Love Story

“A love story”, this is how a friend of mine defines her journey, and not as many would call her, a “chozeret bitshuva” חוזרת בתשובה, or as I tease, a “born again Jew”. A love story. Pesach perhaps is one … Continue reading

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Thoughts on Pesach Cleaning and Tzav; Shabbat Hagadol and even The Elections

Pesach is here, and with it, the cleaning panic. Everywhere I look there is “stuff”, and in every bit of the stuff, there could be chametz!! The prospect is daunting. It seems like we should spend every wakeful second with … Continue reading

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