Lori Silberman Brauner, at The Blogs

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Nov 9, 2016, 9:21 PM

We have to stay and fight for our country

The e-mails between my family members started circulating this morning, the day after what at least some of us considered a devastating political defeat. "Lori wants to leave the country," wrote one family member, based on comments I apparently muttered...

Jul 6, 2016, 6:44 AM

Drawing our own red (and green) lines in Israel

Relaxing at our town's swim club recently, I found myself catching up with a friend whose husband and two sons had gone by themselves to Israel. Normally a laid-back person, she surprised me by stating her conditions for letting the...

Oct 29, 2015, 3:22 PM

Baking challah, remembering a Shabbat queen

The first time I met Henny Machlis, z"l, I was a 20-year-old student spending a semester at Tel Aviv University in 1990. Despite being based in Tel Aviv, I was eager to explore Jerusalem, the place I perceived as the...

Jun 25, 2015, 10:09 AM

Israel: an emotional roller coaster ride

I had only been in Israel a few hours when I received my first berating, from the driver of a Nesher sherut (shared taxi). I was about to help fill up a van full of passengers heading to Jerusalem, when I...

Feb 17, 2015, 2:18 AM

TOI Gala: Beyond the glitz and gift bags

I was privileged last night to both attend and serve as a volunteer for the first annual Times of Israel gala. Held at the ritzy Waldorf-Astoria New York hotel on an evening when, after taking into the account the wind chill...

Jul 29, 2014, 3:57 PM

New York ♥ Israel

New York really loves Israel. As one of at least 10,000 people who packed an entire Manhattan city block between 1st and 2nd avenues yesterday, I can attest to that love. The rally, organized by UJA-Federation of New York and the Jewish Community...

Jul 4, 2014, 5:59 PM

Three fewer Shabbat candles

This Shabbat, my living room mantelpiece will not be as illuminated as it was the last two Friday nights. Three fewer candles will be lit tonight. Living in the Diaspora, I had felt completely helpless upon hearing about the kidnapping of...

Dec 17, 2013, 7:26 AM

Writing my own definition of Orthodox feminism

It was impossible not to be captivated by Leah Sarna, a senior at Yale University who spoke at the opening plenary of the JOFA (Jewish Orthodox Feminist Allliance) conference last Sunday in New York. Sarna is not only a philosophy...

Sep 23, 2013, 4:28 AM

Of sukka hops and spoiled children

Let me preface this blog post by saying I am not the type of parent that forbids her kids from eating candy or enjoying sweets. And if anyone thinks religious Jewish kids in the U.S. are deprived of candy because...

Jun 3, 2013, 10:25 PM

Israel — without the politics — on Fifth Avenue

It never gets old for me -- singing and dancing up Fifth Avenue each year with my children's school -- to celebrate the miracle that is Israel. It is nothing short of exhilarating, in fact, to belt out a jazzed-up...

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About Me

Lori Silberman Brauner lives with her husband and two sons in Teaneck, NJ, also known in certain circles as "Dati-neck." She works as a copy editor and staff writer for the New Jersey Jewish News.