Rachelli Prawer, at The Blogs

Rachelli Prawer

More in love with my land and my people every day

Mar 26, 2026, 11:11 PM

Dear Miriam: A letter from the ones who stayed

A woman watches the Israelites leaving Egypt from her window (AI-generated, courtesy)

(שֶׁהָיוּ בְיִשְׂרָאֵל בְּאוֹתוֹ הַדּוֹר רְשָׁעִים וְלֹא הָיוּ רוֹצִים לָצֵאת... (רש"י שמות י:כ"ב "... There were who didn't want to leave..." (Rashi on Shemot 10:22, quoting Shemot Raba) עֲבָדִים הָיִינוּ לְפַרְעֹה בְּמִצְרָיִם, וַיּוֹצִיאֵנוּ ה' אֱלֹקֵינוּ מִשָּׁם בְּיָד חֲזָקָה וּבִזְרֹעַ נְטוּיָה. וְאִלּוּ...

Mar 8, 2026, 12:30 AM

‘Why Aren’t You Saying Amen?!’ – A life of managed crises

My 6-year-old son participates in a remote school session due to the war. (courtesy)

To me, the strangest part of being in a war is not the disruption to routine, the uncertainty, the sirens and the news. It's that it feels so familiar. We got the alert about Israel's pre-emptive strike on Iran on Shabbat...

Feb 16, 2026, 12:36 AM

Featured Post

Packing up the portacrib in our Room of Requirement

The portacrib in my mamad, soon to be disassembled. (Courtesy)

Our safe room is not magic – just a necessary part of life for our children, who are growing up quickly in a country where the threat of war is ever-present

Jan 27, 2026, 12:27 AM

No one left behind: What this day means

For the first time since 2014, there are no longer Israeli hostages in the territory of the Gaza Strip.” (Israel News Highlights, Special Update, 4.12pm, 26/1/26) I was reviewing some old journal entries recently, and came across one that I...

Jan 13, 2026, 1:59 PM

The third Beit Hamikdash – a house we sit in together

What if the geula (redemption) looks different from how we anticipated? What if the Beit Hamikdash Hashlishi (Third Temple), at least in its first iteration, is not an elaborate building made of stone and gold, filled with precious metals? What if...

Dec 30, 2025, 8:13 PM

David’s Story: A Choose-Your-Own Adventure (With a Twist)

Rivka Deray (playing King Shaul, L) and Michal Lourenco (playing Yonatan, R) rehearse 'I Will Obey' from David The Servant King. (courtesy)

You know you have something good when the entire cast and crew are in tears during a rehearsal. Not tears of frustration (though there can be plenty of those in a production of any scale!), but emotion pouring out...

Dec 7, 2025, 11:46 PM

Featured Post

‘Wicked’ness and goodness in an inverted world

Silhouette of a witch against a green backdrop (AI-generated, courtesy)

Discerning one's true character these days is no small task, but judging superficially is not the Jewish way

Jul 6, 2025, 12:48 PM

A sunburnt country, where our shuls now burn

Damage to the exterior of the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Melbourne is seen on an Australian Broadcasting Corporation news report on July 5, 2025, following an arson attack the previous day (TOI c/o Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

'...which is the right way to which a man should cleave? ...Rabbi Shimon said, foresight.' (Pirkei Avot 2:9) ...איזוהי דרך ישרה שידבק בה האדם...' (פרקי אבות ב:ט) 'רבי שמעון אומר, הרואה את הנולד Hi Melbourne Jews, It’s me again. It feels like déjà...

Jun 26, 2025, 7:42 PM

How trigonometry prepared me for 2025

Maths teacher water skiing (image AI generated by the author)

A funny memory surfaced recently. It was from my year 11 or 12 maths class with Mr Peter Nicholls Z"L. He was presumably trying to explain some kind of mathematical function (probably sine, given the explanation I remember). He described holding...

Jun 16, 2025, 6:48 PM

Raising Generation Redemption

My children's beds in our Mamad [safe room], complete with Teddy (courtesy)

It might be one of the strangest bedtime routines ever. My two older children now sleep in our safe room nightly, though even in the last few months before this current war, they have chosen to sleep there more...

About Me

Born in Melbourne, Australia, Rachelli made aliya to Israel 8 years ago, and currently lives in the beautiful Judean hills of Gush Etzion with her husband and 3 children. She works as a doctor and freelance medical writer.