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Case of the Mute French Again

Wednesday night I finished ‘early' at 5:30 pm. What can I say, at 5:45pm the beeper went off, the radio channel had ‘Piguah (apres terrorist) music'-soft tones, philosophic melodies, and I turned around and went back to the ER.

Tags: Acute Stress | Brain-Behavior Relationship | Piguah | Weird Cognitions

Orange is Hot and Blue is Calming? Living in Israel During Colorful Times.

I am in a conundrum. Torn between parts of myself. In Jerusalem right now, as in many areas of the country, cars are ‘festooned' in blue or orange strips of cloth. Orange is for those who don't want the inevitable ‘pull-out' from Gaza settlements, set to take place August 15^th 2005. Immediately after the Ninth of Av, the Lunar Calendar date of the destruction of the two Temples by the Babylonians and five hundred years later by the Romans, and in 1492, the date of the Spanish Inquisition's expulsion of Jews. Blue strips are on cars whose owners are in favor of the same inevitable ‘pull-out'.

We Have To Be Grateful For Many Things

As Rosh HaShana approaches we have to be grateful for many things. The present ‘intifada' began Erev Rosh HaShana in October 2000, just four years ago. There are many families mourning day after day for those killed and maimed during these past four years. It is hard to remember that we should be thankful too! Of the total 135 ‘successful' attacks, Israel Defense Forces thwarted 406. At the beginning of the March 2002 Operation Defensive Shield, there were 135 casualties with 17 ‘successful' attacks and 8 thwarted. This past June the IDF managed to stop 22 (twenty two!) murderous terrorist attacks from happening. In July six attacks were prevented. August they caught five but unfortunately one terrorist team got by and shot and killed a father of eight.

A Thanksgiving Day Story

One of the hardest things for me to give up when moving to Israel from The States, was not Sunday, but rather Thanksgiving (we have a six day week here, though now we are moving towards a five day week with Friday as the non Shabbat ‘off day'),
Growing up in Manhattan meant waking up VERY early on Thanksgiving Day and watching the participants dress in their costumes and blow up the giant -five story- balloons at the New York Planetarium. Then we would go to a service at Congregation Shearith Israel or The Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue (known by members as The S & P) commemorating the day (the first members of the congregation arrived in New Amsterdam in 1654, so this is SERIOUS American Jewish history). After we saw The Parade on Central Park West, we had THE MEAL of turkey, chestnut stuffing and cranberry sauce.

Tags: Chestnut Stuffing | Cranberry Sauce | Thanksgiving | Turkey

Yesterday I saw a 10 year old pulling a tree down the street.

Yesterday I saw a 10 year old pulling a tree down the street. Today I saw a group of kids with strollers, thinking how nice it was that they were helping with babysitting, I bent down and looked into the carriages, no babies, twigs and branches. Yup, I said to myself, Lag B'Omer cannot be far away. Here Lag B'Omer is a SERIOUS affair. The bonfires are citywide and, if you come from the States (or anywhere else on the globe) somewhat ‘frightening'. When else (well besides Erev Pessach and Biur Hametz) do police turn a blind eye to fires on every available space!

Tags: Lag BOmer

We Have All Been In School At One Time Or Another...

We have all been in school at one time or another. We were all aware of who was known as the "class clown," the "one the teacher hated," and "the teacher's pet." In my day there was the "lishka-boy." That was (usually in a boys' or co-ed school) the boy who could not stay still and was put in charge of office (lishka) jobs. He had keys jangling and a clipboard. He may have collected the attendance sheets from all the teachers or had some other job. Today he might be diagnosed as having ADHD and be on or not on medication. He may currently be a multimillionaire who, once out of school, could put to use his multitasking abilities for professional advancement.

Tags: Jewish Press | Sexual Identity

May The Gates Of Heaven Connect To Our Bridges Of Beseechings

Coming into Jerusalem is always a thrilling experience, even for 'veteran' Jerusalemites, but since the new opening of Spanish architect, Santiago-Calatrava's Jerusalem Chords Bridge, Jerusalem has a "new" way of communicating with its inhabitants and visitors.

On Wayfarers, Tabernacles And Tents

Each of our holidays has unique qualities - beyond food - that allows us to build special memories for our families and us. With the approach of chol hamoed Sukkot I am always on the lookout for tiyulim - outings. This year I would like to share a New York experience and include ones in São Paulo, Brazil and Israel too, to balance things out. Tags: Jewish Press \| Sukkot \| Tiyulim
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'Chaim B'Seret' - 'Living In A Movie' (Part II)

The unsaid words in Chaim's 'bubble' are still hanging about the room; it is heavy with hope, expectations tinged with deep, deep sadness, fear against fear of unrequited love; rejection; loneliness. After years together with Chaim K., I note a pattern, national angst, as we are so close to Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Simchat Torah and Shemini Atzeret, when the Book-of-Life is updated, as it were, for the New Year. These Am Yisrael days of Awe act as debriders (Debride: To remove dead, contaminated or adherent tissue) and 'peel' the faint veneer of bravado that covers Chaim's generally - and awesomely surprising - optimistic spirit.

Tags: Chaim K. | Jewish Press | Singlehood

'Chaim B'Seret' - 'Living In A Movie' (Part I)

Almost immediately on entering my office, Chaim K. begins with the title and says:

"You might ask why I thought of this title. I have thought about this and I think the best way to describe my day-to-day life is to say it is 'life in a movie,' this is an expression of people whose lives are lived out in a surreal dreamlike fashion.

Is Ice Fleishig Or Milchig? Another Case From A Psychologist's Journal

Late one afternoon my secretary, Tova, told me in my office that I really have to take this call now, as the woman on the other end of the phone kept saying, "This is an emergency." I picked up the phone and noticed that as Tova left the room she had an odd smile on her face, not at all in keeping with the word "emergency."

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Dr Judith Guedalia