Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel » Deena Levenstein

My talisman tallis secret

Deena Levenstein — Thu, 23 May 2013 00:21:05 +0000

No, this is not about the Women of the Wall. It is a story about a segula I bought into a few years ago. Segula has no perfect translation in English but it could be called a superstition, a talisman or a supernatural cure. The cure I needed was from my singlehood. I was dating [...]

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A soulful Shavuot night adventure in Jerusalem

Deena Levenstein — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:46:11 +0000

Shavuot, the Jewish holiday when we celebrate the giving of the Torah, the 10 commandments et al, on Mount Sinai, has come and gone. I get to celebrate Shavuot in Jerusalem, arguably the best place in the world to be for this holiday. The tradition on Shavuot is to stay up all night. People learn [...]

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Mamas without their mamas in Jerusalem

Deena Levenstein — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:02:05 +0000

There are ways of coming into this world… And there are ways of going out… Around nine months ago Ayala Pamela Weisfeld z”l was diagnosed with breast cancer that had metastasized into her liver, brain and spine. She passed away around one month after the diagnosis. It was a devastating story that shook all who knew her [...]

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So THAT’S what Passover’s for!

Deena Levenstein — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 18:20:53 +0000

The real reason we keep such a strict diet for one week a year is so that we’ll appreciate how easy it actually is to keep kosher the rest of the year. I guess that human nature is such that sometime’s you’ve gotta split the sea in order to realize how easy everything else is. [...]

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Legumes say farewell to Sephardi/Ashkenazi distinctions

Deena Levenstein — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 22:36:08 +0000

Who thinks legumes are innocent? It’s Pessach and I ate corn and chumus for dinner. And Bamba as a snack earlier today. I’m Ashkenazi and I eat kitniyot. Hear me roar. Of course I’m eating kitniyot (legumes that are traditionally forbidden for Ashkenazim to eat on Pessach). It’s taken me a few years to really [...]

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It’s Pesach again and that’s sort of OK

Deena Levenstein — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 22:32:08 +0000

It’s like a satire the way we go through the same holiday motions year after year. We say the same things every year. Everyone, remember! Dust isn’t chametz! We ask the same questions every year. Daddy, does toothpaste need a kosher for Passover stamp? Like I haven’t asked my father that a million times before. [...]

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The “ew” factor in second-hand purchasing

Deena Levenstein — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:23:02 +0000

We all know that actually the world is a disgusting place. Supposedly we eat little spiders in our sleep And we breathe in everyone else’s dead skin cells all the time (not that I love the idea of breathing in my own). So if I’m already surrounded by grossness, why did it take me so long to [...]

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Azza Street is religiously eclectic but quicksand for many businesses

Deena Levenstein — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 22:23:00 +0000

Rechavia, an attractive and central Jerusalem neighbourhood, has a religious mix that is a breath of fresh air to me, especially after living in Katamon for many years. The unique diversity has led to a few interesting food establishments opening on Azza. Carousela – kosher without certification Carousela is one of the restaurants on the forefront of [...]

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Damn you, fear. Be gone.

Deena Levenstein — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:32:25 +0000

My dear sister Devora wrote a post called “Creating our own personal freedom.” Ah yes, to be free. As I read it, I was very surprised to find a whole paragraph dedicated to me! She wrote: My sister Deena is an inspiring example to all of us Humanoids on knowing how to live life. She has travelled [...]

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Much ado about a Marathon

Deena Levenstein — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 23:27:59 +0000

Why the big hullabaloo about marathons? Almost the entire city is shut down for around half a day so that a bunch of people can run around it? I really don’t get it. But call me a hypocrite. No really, call me one. Because I am a great sucker for the Jerusalem Marathon. Every year, [...]

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Mishloach manot for a classmate in need

Deena Levenstein — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 21:47:35 +0000

I need to tell you about a classmate of mine from elementary school in Toronto, Rachel Mechanic Swirsky ע”ה. It was shocking when she passed away just over one-and-a-half months ago, on the last day of 2012. I’ve thought about her a lot since her premature passing. We were only friendly and so I mainly just watched her [...]

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Snow Day, Election Day and Sun Day

Deena Levenstein — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 21:10:59 +0000

The Megilat Ta’anit lists the days in the Jewish calendar on which it is forbidden to fast. But there are a couple of relatively new Israeli holidays that seldom come which bring joy and good will to the people of the land. These are the beloved Chag HaSnow (Snow Day) and Chag HaBchirot (Israeli Election Day) [...]

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Two lessons learned about Israel during wartime

Deena Levenstein — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 23:36:00 +0000

My first year in Israel I was 11 and I experienced dozens of air raid sirens right here in Jerusalem. It was the Gulf War and my parents chose to come despite the dangers and chose to stay despite our family’s pleas from Canada to come “home.” But war is often about learning the patterns [...]

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JDate’s latest “client retention” program

Deena Levenstein — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 22:01:57 +0000

JDate.co.il members now need to call customer support (yes, on the telephone) in order to turn off automatic renewal of their paid membership. And, automatic renewal is something JDate signs you up for, by default, any time you buy a membership. And, not only is it the default but while going through the payment process, [...]

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Israelis return to their Diaspora roots through their lost surnames

Deena Levenstein — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 18:52:29 +0000

An Israeli Facebook “event” is inspiring young Israelis to think about the surnames their families had before they went through Hebraization in Israel. In order to participate in what is actually a fascinating social and historical experiment, go to the Facebook event, click “Join” and then change your last name on Facebook to the original last names [...]

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