27th of Nisan In The Year 5783 According to the Hebrew calendar, Tuesday the 18th of April is the 27th of Nisan in the year 5783. For most of the world it was just another Tuesday and of no particular interest, except for astrologers, astronomers and physicists who prepare for today’s new moon hybrid total eclipse of the sun. All too many will turn away from reading, seeing or hearing the word, ‘Holocaust.’ Even more most probably will think, “Oh... Read more
Wednesday, 12th April 2023 A cold, wet, rainy spring day in Jerusalem as the dust from the recent hot, dry winds are washed away. Tonight in Israel the Moroccan/North African Jewish holiday of Mimouna will be celebrated. It’s a joyous tradition held on the last night of Passover with family, music, dance and mounds of food. Local politicians with pasted smiles and camera crews by their side descend upon the most (politically) advantageous gatherings. Tomorrow’s social media will be... Read more
The Afternoon of Wednesday, April 5, 2023 During the past few days Israelis have been focused on cleaning, shopping, cooking, cleaning, shopping, cooking – all in preparation for this evenings’ Passover Seder. The story of Freedom and Liberation from slavery is shared by Jews all over the world as we give thanks to God in song and prayer for His endless gifts, mercy and miracles. A holiday of remembrance, it’s also a holiday of pilgrimage. Flashback, Monday March 27th 2023... Read more
On The Road to Firenze Via Bologna (1980) With An Unexpected Stop In Jerusalem (2023) March 27, 2023. It’s been a difficult week. The country where I reside is in turmoil. It’s troubled. Breaking news isn’t once a day, nor twice a day. Breaking news is every hour. It’s difficult to think, to concentrate, to write. Even the weather is unsettling. Springtime sun and Mediterranean Blue Skies disappeared, covered by thick layers of dust, clouds and unexpected rain while... Read more
Still On The Road to Firenze, Yet Getting Closer – Next Stop Highgate While my narrowboat in Little Venice was being renovated and repaired, I rented a room in the Highgate Home of the wonderfully clever and hugely unconventional, Wendy Boorer. A breeder of assorted parrots, Bearded Collies and Affenpinschers, Wendy was a part-time consultant at Walker Books in the field of dogs, birds and other amazing creatures. I enjoyed Highgate. A stone’s throw from Hampstead Heath, Wendy’s home bustled with... Read more
Previously on “The Commonality of Humanity,” A Quick Recap On a hot day in the autumn of 1972, while exploring Tel Aviv, I walked into a used bookstore. As if by magic I’m holding a first edition of Edward McCurdy’s “The Notebooks Of Leonardo Da Vinci.” This book will be my companion for the next 16 years. Having completed my mandatory army service, in September 1977 I leave Israel and fly out to the Netherlands. After two weeks in a... Read more
We interrupt the regular scheduled program to bring you breaking news and a special report. Is That Meher Baba of India? At around 3am on the 4th of March 2023, a dark-eyed, thick mustached young man interrupted my sleep. At first, I thought it was the great eccentric spiritual master, Sri Meher Baba who was born on the 25th of February 1894 in Pune, India to Iranian Zoroastrian parents. Coming out of my deep sleep state, my visitor’s face and... Read more
November 1977, I leave Amsterdam My time in Amsterdam was up. After one month living on a top floor apartment around the corner from the Van Gogh Museum, my Israeli hostess, Daniella returned to from her Spain vacation. Early wintry frosts covered parks, gardens and open fields, steamy fog floated above canals. A shiver in the air, my impatient friends in London awaited my arrival. With one last dinner with my Dutch angels, I sailed away on an overnight ferry... Read more
Do Re Me, Part 2 Autumn of 1977, I Leave Israel By the autumn of 1977 I had lived in Jerusalem, completed my college degree, founded a new kibbutz along the Jordanian border and completed my mandatory army service. And like most graduates of the IDF (Israel Defense Force, Nahal) I found a foreign haven where I would smoke away the stress of military life. Leaving Kibbutz Hulda where my sister’s family was growing (two young daughters) I flew off... Read more
Do Re Me Part One I Arrive In Israel on 23rd of August, 1972 After a 12-hour ELAL flight from New York, my sister greeted me at Ben Gurion Airport with the joyful news of her first pregnancy. My brother-in-law greeted me with a small white truck that he drove in typical Israeli fast and furious fashion along quiet and narrow roadways that led to their home on Kibbutz Hulda. Located between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Kibbutz Hulda at... Read more
The Commonality of Humanity, An Artist's Journey
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