Faigie Heiman

Sixty plus years in Jerusalem

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Nov 12, 2024, 3:21 AM

Generational Echoes

The heavy metal shutters attached to the bulky oversized window have been bolted shut since the 7th of October, 2023. The safe room is dark, except for the small digital electric clock on the night table next to the...

Sep 12, 2024, 9:42 PM

Gate A4 at JFK was full to capacity. Standing room only for passengers waiting to board the ELAL flight to Israel on Rosh Chodesh Elul. The departure lounge included young families returning from their summer vacation in the States,...

Jan 8, 2024, 12:37 PM

“Mishenichnas Adar marbim b’simcha - when Adar enters, joy increases” Ta’anit 29a-b). Adar, the name of your month is related to the word adir, a Hebrew word that denotes strength, power, and joy that is worthy of celebration. You are aligned...

Aug 17, 2023, 8:38 PM

The Zaida’s Wife

It’s 41 years since that special day. I had soaked a bag of chickpeas Thursday night, certain that my daughter would give birth before Shabbat. I had no idea (neither did she), if it would be a girl or...

Mar 9, 2023, 8:17 PM

The blinds are partially drawn, so I know it’s still dark outdoors. My eyes are closed, yet I see the images of 12-year-old girls dancing on stage, dressed in glittery capes and long black skirts. I hear the music,...

Jan 16, 2022, 1:46 PM

Willfully Blind

The Times of Israel co-produced a three-part Kan‑11 video miniseries called “State of Jerusalem” highlighting the feelings of Jerusalem residents who are either Jews, Christians, or Muslims; secular or religious. All of the individuals interviewed for this miniseries shared...

Sep 22, 2020, 5:05 PM

What Is Different This Year Than Other Years

Rosh Hashanah, a day noted also as Yom Hazikaron, is normally translated, and considered in Israel to be Memorial Day. Yet Rosh Hashanah is not Memorial Day. It is not a cemetery day or a Yizkor day. On the...

Jul 21, 2020, 5:42 PM

The street is empty. No movement up the hill and none down the hill. The huge pine tree rising from the depths of the parking lot brushes my window lightly. Her prickly branches are dusty, and nearly motionless. A...

Jul 8, 2020, 9:18 AM

Where Will the Wedding Be on Tuesday?

Days, weeks, and months of the coronavirus have created anxieties, uncertainties, confusion, and sometimes just plain apathy. After all, it is Sunday afternoon, and as a result of the latest government restrictions, the setting for my granddaughter’s wedding was...

May 5, 2020, 1:58 PM

Rabbi Akiva laughed then: Would he laugh today?

“Love your fellow man as yourself; What is mine is yours, and yours is yours” a song we sang aloud and danced to every Shabbat in the youth group I attended as a child growing up in Brooklyn. I...

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About Me

Faigie Heiman is a frequent contributor of essays and short stories to Jewish newspapers and magazines, and author of a popular memoir, Girl For Sale. Born in Brooklyn, she made Aliya in 1960 with her husband and together raised a three-generation family in Jerusalem spanning six historical decades.

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