Mori Sokal, at The Blogs

Sep 2, 2024, 1:13 AM

It’s September first. It’s the day that everyone here usually inundates each other with pictures of their kids on the first day of school. Sometimes, for a joke, I took a picture of myself (a teacher) on the first...

May 30, 2023, 11:00 PM

Heart of Gold, and bronze, and Light

Lucy Dee, Rena London and Mori Sokal on Yom Yerushalayim in Gan Sacher. (Photo courtesy of author)

Today is exactly seven weeks since the funeral of our friend Lucy. As my daughter pointed out when we were learning as a family on Shavuot night, seven is a special number in Tanach. The first and most important...

Apr 25, 2023, 9:26 PM

Pictures of you

The sirens were not loud enough today. Even when the missing man formation planes flew overhead, it was not as loud as the scream in my heart, the confusion in my head asking why. Why were we here, how...

Feb 21, 2023, 9:59 PM

A Time to Plant, a Time to Grow

Today is the last day of the Hebrew month of Shevat. It is also Rosh Chodesh Adar, the start of the month of Adar. We have a saying in Adar, the song of which echoes through the halls of...

Sep 6, 2022, 5:36 PM

The Last Minute – between the candles

There's a saying in English, don't wait until the last minute to do things. The truth is, except for lighting candles for Shabbat or Yom Tov, or other times where we know what the deadline is, we don't often...

May 5, 2022, 2:18 PM

Sirens and Silence, from ashes to flowers

This year's Yom Hashoah was a difficult but meaningful three days for me. Yes, Yom Hashoah by definition is one Yom- one day. But this year, I took part in events that were spread over three days, as it...

Feb 1, 2022, 10:11 AM

First they banned the books

There seems to be so much going on, always, so even if you heard about this, you may not have thought it was so important. Just a few days ago, a school board in the United States, in Tennessee,...

Dec 7, 2021, 12:06 AM

You have reached your destination/Living the Dream

As Chanukah draws to an end, I think about how, unlike most Jewish holidays, the majority of each day of Chanukah is not spent thinking about the chag as we can travel and do many other activities this week....

Sep 3, 2021, 11:28 AM

Looking Back/looking forward- when last we hugged

A friend once told me that I carry a lot of pain. I thought she meant how I care about others and try to be there for them when they are having a hard time, but she said no,...

May 21, 2021, 6:11 PM

View from my mirpeset

There are stories that can be told in pictures, while other stories need words. This story will have both. Two evenings ago, after a long day, I went out onto my mirpeset (terrace/porch used in apartment housing in Israel)...

About Me

Mori Sokal is a SIXTEEN year veteran of Aliyah, mother of three wonderful children (with her wonderful husband) and is an English teacher in both elementary and high school in the Gush Etzion-Jerusalem area. She has a Masters’ degree in teaching, is a copy editor, and has published articles in Building Blocks, the Jewish Press magazine.

Contact Me