Michelle Orrelle, at The Blogs

Michelle Orrelle

Live & Learn

Jul 6, 2025, 7:01 PM

I tried to sign up for the thirty-day meal rota, one day after the shiva ended, but was too late. I close my eyes and imagine myself carrying a tray of cooked food, still steaming from the oven, walking one...

Mar 25, 2025, 2:38 PM

The House Guest: Some Light Relief

Young family friend, on her second trip to Israel alone, exits Ben Gurion Airport and sends a text to her middle-aged host saying “I’m on my way.” She arrives at the house at midnight, and as arranged tiptoes inside,...

Nov 15, 2023, 10:25 AM

Tuesday Afternoon

Photo: Ahuza St Ra'anana taken by Michelle Orrelle

It began with my husband Alex sharing a message in our family group that a 21-year-old a soldier from our town named Roi Maron ז"ל had fallen in combat yesterday. It encouraged everyone to line the route from the...

Oct 15, 2023, 4:28 PM

How do we manage? How do we sleep?

Dear friend, You asked How do we manage? How do we sleep? In the back of my mind all the time lurks the scream, the tears, the desire to curl up in a ball and sob, the wish to crawl under...

Oct 11, 2023, 5:27 PM

You asked

How am I? Shaken to my core. Horrified. Heartbroken. But I am one of the lucky ones. I have my family near me. I am relatively safe in the center of the country. We have a mamad (safe room) that I can...

Apr 30, 2021, 10:39 AM

First century crackers

I’m standing in my kitchen on a warm spring day, cooking. Tomorrow’s my turn to host book club so, as is our custom, I‘m preparing a light meal that’s in keeping with the book we read. Figuring out this menu...

Jan 9, 2020, 3:05 PM

In Praise of the Bridges

In praise of the bridges we cross to meet one another, to talk, to argue, to embrace. In praise of the people who built the bridges, with their money, their time and their hope. In praise of the people who cross the bridges, to...

Oct 9, 2019, 7:41 PM

What’s with the hole in the road?

For the past week, they've been digging up the road outside my house. The council note in the letterbox said this’ll go on for the next three months. It's inconvenient and it's fascinating. Every morning a team of workmen arrive...

Apr 18, 2019, 3:01 PM

Featured Post

Invisible threads

My grandmother sewed costumes for Habima after she came to Palestine from Odessa in 1919; in 2019, I think I spotted them in the theater's window

Mar 7, 2019, 11:05 PM

Traffic Light unto the Nations

For decades, international delegations have been coming to Israel to learn the secret of the Start-Up Nation. They visit shining examples of medical, scientific, environmental and humanitarian advancements at companies like Waze, Checkpoint, SodaStream, and Netafim. To add to the...

About Me

Michelle Orrelle, an Australian-born writer living in Israel, celebrates Jewish values, culture, and heritage through stories inspired by history and family. She and her husband co-founded a Tel Aviv-based animation company and have three grown sons. She also guides at ANU, The Museum of the Jewish People.

Contact Me