Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel » Shira Zwebner

Tu B’Shvat for the Plant Killer

Shira Zwebner — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 08:18:05 +0000

There is no official name for people like me. Sure, I can say that I have a black thumb, or that what I do is involuntary plantslaughter, but those words are insufficient when I go through the list of plants I’ve killed. Until I moved to Israel and then became a parent, Tu B’Shvat wasn’t [...]

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Feeling helpless, miles away from Sandy

Shira Zwebner — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 10:14:01 +0000

As a native New Yorker living in Israel, I’ve watched the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy with a feeling of complete helplessness. Image after image, and video after video, of chaos, destruction and devastation abounds. I’ve been monitoring the live blogs from the New York media and each time a friend on Long Island, Lower Manhattan, [...]

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Israeli’s Lax Attitude Towards Food Allergies

Shira Zwebner — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:47:33 +0000

This past Friday, during gan pick up for our 18 month old, the gannenet went on and on about how much our daughter enjoys her weekly cupcake. She then mentioned that she was so excited about her special cupcake, that she wasn’t even upset about the bamba that the other kids were eating as their [...]

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Why Mommy doesn’t pray

Shira Zwebner — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 17:30:27 +0000

We’re on the countdown to Rosh Hashanah, which for me means preparing delicious menus for our lunch guests, trying to figure out how to make vegan honey cake for my youngest (and egg allergic) daughter, writing New Year greeting cards for our family and friends in the States, and making a bunch of will-you-forgive-me phone [...]

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Drinking Games: The Jerusalem Beer Festival

Shira Zwebner — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:39:12 +0000

Tonight, my husband and I decided to reclaim our youth by donning Radiohead Southpark and Janis Joplin t-shirts, to attend the 8th Annual Jerusalem Beer Festival at the old train station in Baka. It’s the first time, in the past five years I’ve lived in Jerusalem, where I could actually drink. The last time I [...]

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Summer camp memories

Shira Zwebner — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 23:32:19 +0000

My 13-year-old Israeli niece is spending her very first summer at a Jewish sleep-away camp in Pennsylvania. When I heard she was going, I was so excited. I’m a Jewish summer camp veteran, having spent more than my fair share of summers at Camp Morasha, Camp Hillel, Camp Moshava IO and Camp Mesorah. For months, I helped [...]

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The Concubine Revival

Shira Zwebner — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:22:26 +0000

Concubines are making a comeback. Only this time, adultery has received some impressive Rabbinical blessing. The Chief Judge of the Jerusalem Rabbinical Court, Rabbi Eliyahu Abergel, ruled yesterday that a man may take a concubine if his wife cannot have children and refuses to grant him a divorce. According to his latest book, Dvarot Eliyahu, [...]

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Responsibility of the Jewish writer

Shira Zwebner — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 12:28:24 +0000

With great power comes great responsibility. – Voltaire, and also Spiderman’s Uncle Ben I let my hand linger in the air a bit and then thought better of it, my question no longer relevant given the direction in which the conversation was going. It was such a shame; I would have loved to hear the [...]

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Getting intimate with the President

Shira Zwebner — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 11:09:24 +0000

President Shimon Peres knows how to throw a party. This evening, the 4th Israeli Presidential Conference will begin at the Jerusalem International Conventional Center. “Facing Tomorrow” is the platform, and the three day event has rounded up an impressive roster of speakers and panelists. I’m attended as a blogger and have been enjoying the back [...]

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Please pass the pie

Shira Zwebner — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 18:03:59 +0000

Do you feel that undercurrent in the air? The tension in the city? It’s just building with all of this talk about bombing Iran. Today, Adam Zussman, the head of the Tel Aviv district of the Home Front Command, said in a statement that a missile attack could lead to “hundreds of casualties.” To that I [...]

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Hassidic Woman vs. Hassidic Woman: Round 1

Shira Zwebner — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:43:56 +0000

If your Facebook feed looks anything like mine, then you spent much of Tuesday reading reactions to one Hassidic woman’s inspiring article about how awesome it is to be a Hassidic woman. If your friends are like mine, they were all like, “You go girl!” to Chaya’s article. Then, Wednesday morning, my Facebook feed began to include [...]

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What about our disabled veterans?

Shira Zwebner — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:14:28 +0000

Every year, as Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day) approaches, I watch my husband’s entire demeanor change. His shoulders slump more, his normally cheerful disposition wanes, and his mind wanders. Like many Israelis, Gaby’s thoughts are primarily with the ones we have lost in battle. From his great uncle, one of the Lamed Heh, to a friend [...]

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