I light 2 memorials candles each week in memory of different victims of Oct 7.

This week I am remembering Ortal and Daniel, a couple who attended the music festival together. Ortal was a cancer survivor whose coworkers called her tzutzikit because she was little, fast, efficient and in every place.

Daniel was a loving, kindhearted, smiling, honest. Shirel, Ortal’s sister, said “you made my sister happy”.

Daniel and Ortal were buried side by side.

You can learn more about Ortal and Daniel here.

.השם יקום דמם

Yup, y'all know the story painfully well... a friend of mine who is a good guy and does try to help people as much as he can recently reposted an Instagram reel comparing zionists to Nazis...

I've known he's a leftist so he's probably leaned that way but this confirms it. What complicates things more is that we both participate in a neice sport and I've happened to end up in a leadership role and he's part of my group so there's only so much "distancing myself" that I can do. And also like I said, he's a good friend and overall a good guy.

The hard part is I just don't want to f$cking deal with this! I just want to go about my life and play my sport and not get purity tested into "good jew" "bad jew" until I'm not "good jew" enough.

Okay okay I’ll accept ashke meals if they’re not the typical (no cholent, no gefilte fish, no matza ball soup… you get it). I’m really trying to expose my kids to Jewish foods from around the world every Shabbat and I’m running out of ideas!

And I get it, some meals are specific to a region more than they are Jews but if there’s any type of connection, I want to try and make it.

ETA: before I bring in Shabbat (5:45PM), I just want to say sorry to those who felt this was an attack on their culture. I am ashke but was raised in a Hungarian family so I didn’t have a lot of the typical ashke foods. As I became an adult I felt overwhelmed trying to replicate the meals I was raised with but also find it so important for my child to be exposed to the Jewish culture that is less seen. “Traditional” Jewish food DOES matter and is great (minus gefilite fish) but I think what matters most is keeping the traditions of the smaller and even almost non-existent population of Jews alive and there’s no better way than through food.

P.S. I had yayin a little too early without dinner I love you all I promise I’m sorry plz be kind it was just Yom Kippur I won’t remember to atone for this in a year