Melinda Mishkin Kieffer

Proud to be an American, yet Israel is home.

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Oct 27, 2022, 5:54 AM

Should We Help Kanye?

I don't know any of Kanye's music, I don't follow him on social media, I am not encouraged to buy the brands he endorses. I still haven't forgiven him for stealing the spotlight in 2009 from Taylor Swift when...

Oct 20, 2022, 6:41 AM

Partnership in Katamonim

I've always told others never to judge a new synagogue by High Holidays, because of the crowds, the formality and organized chaos. But that's exactly what I did. Erev Rosh Hashanah my husband and I tentatively walked into Kehillat...

Apr 29, 2020, 1:38 AM

Zoom Me Up Scotty!

I’m a grandmother of 12 (!) and my college years are long gone, but the memories remain. Last week while being quarantined and extremely bored, I reminisced about our college years with my husband of almost 47 years whom...

Sep 2, 2019, 10:24 PM

No White After Labor Day, No Black After Memorial Day

These were the fashion rules my mother z’l insisted on during my childhood. And not just my mother but any well-groomed (her word) American woman from the 1930s to the ends of their lives imparted this wisdom to their...

Jul 14, 2019, 6:18 PM

The Gift Of Sitting On A Park Bench

What could be more wonderful this past Shabbat in Jerusalem than walking to San Simon Park with my daughter, son-in-law and their 3 young children? It’s an amazing sight to see hundreds of families, religious and secular, all enjoying...

Nov 4, 2018, 7:56 AM

Candy and Tears on the Bima

Thank God, there was a bat mitzvah this morning. Synagogues across the world were filled beyond their weekly Shabbat attendance and mine, Temple Beth Am of Margate, Florida, was no exception with 300 worshippers, Jews and others, filling our...

Jul 15, 2018, 11:56 PM

Dan the Mitzvah Man

It happened again tonight. As in past summers here in Israel, tonight I participated in Danny Siegel’s Annual Mitzvah Heroes Dinner. Danny magically weaves the invitations among Heroes and donors and those who just want to be part of...

Dec 8, 2017, 8:41 PM

When violence determines policy and diplomacy

In the days preceding President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the legitimate capital of Israel, American elected officials, international leaders, political pundits, journalists and others have warned that this recognition is dangerous, undoubtedly leading to violence because the Palestinians...

Nov 13, 2017, 10:35 PM

Open Letter to Larry David

Dear Larry David I’ve waited a week to post this open letter to you, wondering if my thoughts would matter to you about your poor and shocking decision to tell crude “Holocaust jokes” (how is it even possible to have...

Jul 4, 2016, 9:00 PM

My Entebbe Story

Sunday morning, July 4, 1976. 5:00 am -- There was a pounding on our door by the building manager of Neve Schechter in Jerusalem, where our USY Israel Pilgrimage was staying. He was pounding and screaming, "Heym Al HaDerech...

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About Me

Melinda/Malka is a Certified Relationship Life Coach and a Jewish Educator, with a focus on Israel and Holocaust Education. As a Life coach she has worked with college students, young couples and adults who all want to make change towards better living. She's taught in Day Schools, Jewish overnight summer camps and led trips to Israel and Poland. She & her husband made Aliyah in 2013, returned to the US for a few years, but now enjoy their home in Jerusalem. She is the proud Bubbie of 13 wonderful grandchiildren.