Why I Left Jerusalem
After 50-something years, and to the astonishment of our children and grandchildren, at the end of June my husband and I packed up our things and left Jerusalem, moving halfway across the country to settle in Zichron Yaakov, […]
Category Archives: Religion
An Observant Wife
My new book, An Observant Wife, which is a sequel to An Unorthodox Match will be published on September 14th. Here’s a comment by an early reader: “Long before Shtisel and Unorthodox reached television screens, Naomi Ragen had […]
Goodbye 2020. Welcome 2021!
Dear 2020, Here we are at the eve of your departure. I have to admit that I’m thrilled to see you go. But I wouldn’t want you to fade into oblivion before reminding us both of the remarkable […]
An Unorthodox Match now in Paperback
Just a note to let you know that the paperback edition of An Unorthodox Match is officially coming out today, November 24. I’ve also just finished the sequel, An Observant Wife, which takes the love story of Yaakov and […]
COVID is Ripping Israel Apart
When COVID-19 reached Israel last March, I was not unduly worried. Fifty years of firsthand experience with Israeli resilience and mutual cooperation, through wars, recessions, exploding buses and deep political turmoil, made me believe we would sail through […]
The Rebellion of Israel’s Haredim
In mid-January 2020, when Israelis first became dimly aware of a mysterious new virus coming from far-off China, most of our attention was focused closer to home. Although we empathized, we were more concerned about the inability of […]
A “Book That Will Transport You”
Lisa Niver, a wonderful writer and book addict, has written an article for Ms. Magazine’s May 2020 issue about “Books That Will Transport You” out of your lockdown at home during the Covid -17 #stay at home. Among […]
This Year, a Meaningful Pesach (Passover)
My Dear Friends, I’m writing to you from Jerusalem where soon our eternal Capital, our undivided city, will be divided into lock-down zones. Many of you will also be separated from your loved ones. Too many of you […]
The Social Distancing Has to Stop
Haredim have been social distancing since Israel was founded, refusing to take part in the social, cultural and educational life of the rest of the country, isolating into separate communities with their own institutions and own way of […]