Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS
Deborah Fineblum

Deborah Fineblum

Deborah Fineblum is a freelance writer and book author who made aliyah on July 4, 2013.

“We’ve heard about antisemitism around the world but thought there was nothing to worry about here,” says Australian Ronny Krite, who was on the scene on Dec. 14 in the midst of mayhem.
“All the times we were here as tourists were a lot of fun, but you don’t know what it’s like until you put your skin in here. Once you do that jump of hope, you start seeing life in a new way, through Israeli glasses,” says Shira Denise Kilemnic Mac.
Naomi Adler aims to bring more women into the organization to tackle challenges such as anti-Semitism, strengthen bonds with Israel and create new opportunities for youth and families.
Besides a place of blessing, the sukkah was designed to be truly lived in, including working or doing homework, sleeping, and, of course, eating (and for hosting friends and family).
“On this day, I am strong enough to rid myself of some unbecoming things I’ve picked up on the road and return home, picking up some beautiful mitzvahs along the way. On this day, I will experience not so much atonement as at-one-ment, returning to the One who sees and embraces me for who I am,” says Rabbi Tzvi Freeman.
“It’s no coincidence that anti-Israel forces focus on schools with more Jewish students to try to poison their minds about Israel,” says Hillel International president and CEO Adam Lehman. “Like the child at the seder who doesn’t even know how to ask, many of our kids are vulnerable.”
“We know that the 30 days of Adar are the happiest of the year for the Jewish people, so in a year when we double the number of Adar days to 60, we’re also bound to double our good fortune,” says Rabbi Yerachmiel Tilles, co-founder of the Ascent seminar center in Tzfat, Israel.
How does resting the land work in modern-day Israel where, even during the other six years, many farm families live hand to mouth?
The incident is a reminder to “embrace each other and our history,” says Lori Palatnik of the Jewish organization Momentum. “Now at a time when no Jew is imprisoned; our only prison is ignorance of our own history. Now it’s no longer ‘let my people go.’ Now it’s got to be ‘let my people know.’ ”