Category Travel

Rockower win leads to NOLA

photo - Israeli artist Ya’acov Agam’s Holocaust memorial is located in Woldenberg Park

Israeli artist Ya’acov Agam’s Holocaust memorial is located in Woldenberg Park. (photo by Adina Horwich) On Friday, June 2, about 20 minutes before Shabbat candlelighting, I checked my email. I saw one from Cynthia Ramsay, editor of the Jewish Independent.…

May you leave with laughter

photo - Ahrida Synagogue is one of the two still-functioning synagogues in the Balat neighbourhood of Istanbul

Ahrida Synagogue is one of the two still-functioning synagogues in the Balat neighbourhood of Istanbul. (photo by Deborah Rubin Fields) On my first trip to Israel just after graduating high school, I met a similar-aged Turkish Jew. He was also…

Oasis in the Caucasus

photo - Flame Towers, in the capital city Baku, reflect the forward-looking economy and the ancient Zoroastrian roots of the Azerbaijani people

Flame Towers, in the capital city Baku, reflect the forward-looking economy and the ancient Zoroastrian roots of the Azerbaijani people. (photo by Pat Johnson) It is a Muslim-majority country where Jews proudly draw visitors’ attention to the fact that their…

Invest the time to prepare

photo - One of the ways to prepare a child for a vacation is to start small. For example, take them to a local aquarium or other nearby attraction to get them used to the idea of touring

One of the ways to prepare a child for a vacation is to start small. For example, take them to a local aquarium or other nearby attraction to get them used to the idea of touring. (photo from Dawn M.…

Albania’s many legends

photo - A bunker in Tirana, Albania, that is now the Bunk’Art art and history museum

A bunker in Tirana, Albania, that is now the Bunk’Art art and history museum. (photo by Deborah Rubin Fields) Albania is a country of great contrasts. It has stunning, clean beaches, so gorgeous that locals refer to them as the…

Jewish life in Newfoundland

photo - Rabbi Chanan and Tuba Chernitsky and their family before the couple had another baby this past spring

Rabbi Chanan and Tuba Chernitsky and their family before the couple had another baby this past spring. (photo from lubavitch.com) In the fall of 2019, my husband and I traveled to Newfoundland to take in its beauty and bounty. Both…

Age no concern to Sar-El

photo - Sar-El volunteers from Canada, the United States, England, Germany and the Caribbean at a base not far from Sderot in 2018

Sar-El volunteers from Canada, the United States, England, Germany and the Caribbean at a base not far from Sderot in 2018. (photo from Ed Rozenberg) This past July, I found myself shlepping boxes full of medical supplies and loading them…

Tour guides struggle

photo - Unemployed tour guide Hannah Rosenberg is now serving up hot dogs for about $12.50 Cdn an hour

Unemployed tour guide Hannah Rosenberg is now serving up hot dogs for about $12.50 Cdn an hour. (photo by Gil Zohar) For Anglo tour guides who have been unemployed since March 2020, the Israeli government’s recent decision to impose a seven-day…

Memories of Balkans

photo - The author in the synagogue in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina

The author in the synagogue in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. (photo from Miri Garaway) When I first started planning and researching our October 2017 trip to Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, the foremost thing on my mind was learning about the Jewish history…

Going to shul in Las Vegas

photo - Las Vegas’s Or Bamidbar Chabad Sephardi synagogue at Chanukah

Las Vegas’s Or Bamidbar Chabad Sephardi synagogue at Chanukah. (photo from Rabbi Yossi Shuchat) The Las Vegas Strip is where all of the action is, an endless sea of attractions and hotels with casinos, exhibits and more. These hotels cater…