Menucha Saitowitz, at The Blogs

Nov 14, 2023, 12:04 PM

The many Hebrew words for ‘bomb shelter’

You know how the Inuit have dozens of words for snow? When I wrote my last post, I realized that in English I was using the term 'bomb shelter' for various Hebrew words - mamad, miklat, merhav mugan, migunit, etc. All...

Sep 18, 2023, 10:20 PM

The Handshake

I am an Orthodox Jewish woman. I dress modestly and cover my hair. I also observe the practice of ‘shomer negiah’ and do not touch men outside of my family. At work I recently hosted visitors from a foreign embassy....

Apr 7, 2022, 12:26 PM

Coming together even when tensions are high

As the first speaker took the stage, one of my Bedouin colleagues smilingly looked out at the crowd of over 300 and confided, "They're here! They're all here. I really didn't think they would come." Her sentiments reflect the...

Mar 24, 2022, 9:20 AM

The smiling, redheaded father at school pick up

I have a redhead. My youngest, Hadassah. My fireball. My heart. Everywhere we go, people comment on her hair. Redheads stick out. We notice them. And so I noticed Rabbi Moshe Kravitzsky. At pick up. At my son's school. Each day. Always smiling. With his bicycle. The one he was riding yesterday when he...

Nov 25, 2018, 1:21 PM

The Most Israeli Text Message I Ever Received

B'ezrat Hashem, this week I will be going to the Kotel with my daughter's preschool . Her teacher suggested the trip as a fun way to celebrate Chanukah, with one or both parents joining each child for the special visit. Some of...

Oct 21, 2018, 9:28 PM

How working for a social change NGO inspired me to act

I work for a social change organization called Eretz-Ir. In fact, I work in resource development, and spend much of my day writing about our incredible social entrepreneurs and urban communities. I work with people who dream of changing...

About Me

Menucha Mackenzie Saitowitz earned her degree in psychology and religion from Dartmouth University in 2010. Since making Aliyah in 2011, She has worked to develop Israel's periphery, with an emphasis on the South. She loves that she and her husband are raising their 4 sabras in Be'er Sheva, the heart of the Negev. Menucha is passionate about bringing Jews and Arabs together. She is currently studying for her MA in Religious and Middle Eastern Politics at Bar Ilan University.