Acclimating, by KJ Hannah Greenberg

Dear Sister:

Can you believe that we are six months into our aliyah? We’re grateful to be here and grateful for all of the opportunities, for personal growth, that being here brings.

Life here, in many ways, is both simpler and more challenging than life there. The crazy middle-easterners we call “friends” and “neighbors” are fab and are vehicles for much of our cultural enlightenment. Sure there are creeps among the saints, but most of the folk in our circles are ordinary, wonderful, hard-working people. Among them, there is less of a feeling of entitlement and more of a feeling of “can do.” After all, here, prices are higher (by about twice the amount) and salaries are lower (by about half) than there. Locals make things last, fix things, use something else, or do without. (more…)

Sibling Rivalry, by Deirdre "Dee" McCall

Do you remember back when we were kids? Some days, I remember it like it was yesterday and some days I try really hard to forget. Life wasn’t so good back then, and yet, we both had it so much better than most, at least, most of the people we knew.

I know you never understood why I was so unhappy. You were the cheerful one, always with a smile and those blue eyes. Mom even said recently that you were one the boys always made comments about. See, they made comments about me too, but I guess she never saw that. You were tiny and cute and I was a big girl, tall for my age with big breasts and a full figure. I was never fat, but it sure seemed Mom thought I was. Oh, yeah, the men looked at me too. I guess Mom forgot that. Seems she forgets a lot of things, perhaps conveniently. (more…)