Laura Goodman

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Jan 1, 2025, 11:00 PM

Watching Fiddler on the Roof with Antisemitism on My Mind

Fiddler on the Roof on Christmas Day. Great idea. Connecting to my traditions on a day when everything closes for other people’s traditions. I bought tickets as soon as possible. When I taught Hebrew school, I showed the movie to...

Oct 17, 2024, 6:54 PM

The Jewish Holidays and October 7th

October 7th and its aftermath have become a new part of Jewish identity. This event seems to be within the canon of the stories of our honey-and-horseradish history. Will it join the “They tried to kill us, we survived,...

May 31, 2024, 6:59 PM

Learning and Living Jewish Wisdom: Moving forward on My Life Journey

Life is beautiful, banal, and cruel. We have all experienced moments of each since they broadly cover the human condition. It’s the balance that makes life unfair. This weekend, I watched the interview with four mothers of the five young...

Mar 17, 2024, 4:04 PM

A New Life Balance: Being Jewish after October 7th

Since October 7th, my heart and mind changed. Technically, my life hasn’t changed, but that just goes to show that life is not determined only by the actions one takes in a day. How can it not have changed...

Jan 22, 2024, 7:49 AM

Traveler’s prayer: Looking for comfort along the way

Before going to the airport to fly from Southern Florida to Oregon, I removed my car fob from my key chain. I wanted to keep with me the key chain with the hamsa (a symbol thought to thwart the...

Dec 17, 2023, 6:57 PM

Being Jewish Now: Angry, Disappointed, Sad/Determined, Inspired, Intertwined

Walking out of the supermarket the other day, I was a few steps behind a woman with a baby carrier, her hair was up, making her back-of-the-neck tattoo visible. It said, שלום. I smiled. A simple moment of connection...

Nov 20, 2023, 3:19 PM

Jewish Women Are Lionesses, Not Material for Mockery and Easy Jokes

Jewish mothers are rising and we are lionesses! We’re done being mocked for loving our families too fiercely. There can be no “too” much love, as there can never be enough kugel or rugelach (two tasty signs of that love). Jewish...

Oct 23, 2023, 6:51 PM

October 7 Broke My Heart

Tel Aviv, this time last year

Last week was my younger daughter’s birthday. She turned 28. She and her boyfriend went to a restaurant near their home for dinner, then to a bakery for birthday cake to complete their celebratory evening. Last weekend they went...

Sep 5, 2023, 8:01 PM

Rosh Hashanah Gifts for My Daughters: A Delicate Balance

Rosh Hashanah, Hanukkah, Passover. The three times in a year that I send reminders to my adult daughters that they’re Jewish. OK, they know they’re Jewish, after all they were both born in Israel, and Hebrew, though forgotten, was their...

Jul 23, 2023, 5:39 PM

My Failed Aliyah: Back in the States, But Where Is My Heart?

The other day I was explaining to my 27-year-old daughter why I made aliyah when I was 21. She looked at me and asked, “What’s aliyah?” Which is when I realized that my aliyah was a failure, and not...

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About Me

Laura Goodman grew up in NYC. After college, she went to Israel for six months—which became 18 years. When she and her family relocated to Virginia, she got an MS in Conflict Studies, which she used as an English teacher and a mother. After retiring, she moved to Florida to help her mother, and then to Oregon to be near her daughter, and a break from the heat and humidity. As a dedicated volunteer, she writes for Israeli non-profits and translates Holocaust survivor testimonies from Hebrew to English. Laura writes about being Jewish, Israel, and the work of being a mother, a daughter, a friend, and retirement.